This procedure assists University staff in fulfilling their statutory health and safety responsibilities in relation to student excursions.
This procedure applies to teaching/academic staff who plan, organize, conduct, supervise or manage student excursions. Several of the provisions also apply to students and other participants who take part in such excursions.
Whilst this procedure is not intended to cover outings that do not formally constitute student excursions (e.g. trips unrelated to unit/course outcomes, trips between campuses, etc.), staff members who organize such outings are encouraged to apply the principles of this procedure and use relevant forms.
Term | Definition |
Student excursion (‘excursion’) | A trip away from a campus of the University conducted for a group of students for purposes related to achieving the learning outcomes of the unit/course. An "overnight excursion" is one that starts on a given day and finishes on the following day or later. |
Staff Member in Charge | The Federation University Australia member of staff who plans, organizes, conducts, supervises or manages a student excursion. There can be several Staff Members in Charge for an excursion. |
Participant |
Any person who takes part in an excursion, other than the Staff Member(s) in Charge and volunteers, self-employed people or employees of other organizations who may coordinate activities during part of an excursion because of their skills, expertise, knowledge, etc. Examples of people who are not considered to be participants include: guides in an art gallery, park rangers accompanying students during field activities, bus drivers taking students and staff on an excursion, farmers allowing students on their property, etc. Participants are primarily students, but can include staff members and others (see Note 4 under 1.E.1. below). |
ACTIVITY | RESPONSIBILITY | STEPS | |
A. | Identifying, assessing and controlling risks associated with the planned excursion | Staff Member in Charge |
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B. | Managing excursions involving participants under the age of 18 | Staff Member in Charge |
Note 1: where a student under the age of 18 is living independently (i.e. without the supervision and care of a parent/guardian), the Staff Member in Charge is required to make contact with the Head – Health, Safety and Wellbeing. Note 2: It is acceptable for a Staff Member in Charge to cover several excursions, or even all the excursions – excluding overnight ones – they are planning for the forthcoming year on a single form. However, they must list in section 6 of the form all relevant details of the planned excursions, insofar as these details can be specified at that stage. If the details of an excursion that was listed need to be changed or a new excursion is planned, the Staff Member in Charge must inform the parents/guardians of students under 18 years of the change in advance, as far as practicable. The parents/guardians of students must also be provided with the opportunity to withdraw permission in advance, as far as practicable. A letter advising each excursion is sent out to Parents/guardians with an option to withdraw permission. Parents/guardians should provide formal written notification of their decision to withdraw their permission for all or selected excursions. Parents/guardians must complete sections 2A, 2C, 3, 4 and 5 of the form, and they must sign at the bottom of section 6. |
C. | Managing overnight excursions involving participants under the age of 18 | Staff Member in Charge |
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D. | Managing excursions involving participants over the age of 18 | Staff Member in Charge |
Note 3: This form can provide blanket cover for all student excursions conducted during the year. However, if the details of an excursion that was listed need to be changed or a new excursion is planned, the Staff Member in Charge must inform the students over 18 years of the change in advance, as far as practicable. The students must also be provided with the opportunity to withdraw consent in advance, as far as practicable. |
E. | Authorizing a person who is neither a staff member nor a student to participate in an excursion | Staff Member in Charge |
Note 4: For instance, the participation of some students with disabilities in excursions may be dependent on the presence of their carer. |
Dean/Director |
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F. | Maintaining a list of excursion participants | Staff Member in Charge |
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G. | Organizing transport for an excursion | Staff Member in Charge |
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H. | Obtaining authorizations for an excursion | Staff member in Charge |
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ACTIVITY | RESPONSIBILITY | STEPS | |
A. | Ensuring the health and safety of excursion participants | Staff Member in Charge |
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B. | Managing an incident or emergency during an excursion | Staff Member in Charge |
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ACTIVITY | RESPONSIBILITY | STEPS | |
A. | Maintaining appropriate records whilst protecting individuals’ privacy | Deans/Directors |
Note 5: The information must be stored in a secure location, where access is monitored. For example, it may not be appropriate for health information to be stored on student files. |
Staff Member in Charge | Ensure appropriate arrangements are in place to maintain the security of any personal or health information as per 2.A.5. above. Such details can only be disclosed for the safe conduct of the excursion, the management of incidents and emergencies, and as specified in schedule 1 – principle 2 of the Victorian Health Records Act 2001. |
Forms
- Application for Non-Student/Non Staff Member to Attend an Excursion (PDF 228.0kb)
- Application to Conduct an Excursion (PDF 214.7kb)
- List of Excursion Participants (PDF 193.9kb)
- Request to Use Own transport to Excursion Form (DOCX 141.9kb)
- Student Excursion Health Report and Consent Form for Students Over 18 Years (PDF 238.2kb)
- Student Excursion Health Report and Consent Form for Students Under 18 Years (PDF 255.1kb)
- The Chief Operating Officer is responsible for monitoring the implementation, outcomes and scheduled review of this procedure.
- The Head – Health, Safety and Wellbeing is responsible for maintaining the content of this procedure as delegated by the Chief Operating Officer.
The Student Excursions Procedure will be communicated throughout the University community in the form of an Announcement Notice via:
- an Announcement Notice via FedNews website and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the ‘Policies, Procedures and Forms @ the University’ website; and
- an email to Chairs of Health and Safety Implementation Teams.
The Student Excursions Procedure will be implemented throughout the University community via an Announcement Notice via:
- an Announcement Notice via FedNews website and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the ‘Policies, Procedures and Forms @ the University’ website; and
- an email to Chairs of Health and Safety Implementation Teams.
Document Title | Location | Responsible Officer | Minimum Retention Period |
Application for Non-Student/Non-Staff Member to Attend an Excursion | School/Directorate/College/Centre | Dean/Director | Destroy two (2) years after excursion date |
Application to Conduct an Excursion | School/Directorate/College/Centre | Dean/Director | One (1) year after completion of administrative use |
Excursion Health Report and Consent Form for Students Over 18 Years | School/Directorate/College/Centre | Dean/Director | Destroy seven (7) years after date of last action or attendance or access by or on behalf of the individual |
Excursion Health Report and Consent Form for Students Under 18 Years | School/Directorate/College/Centre | Dean/Director | Destroy seven (7) years after date of last action or attendance or access by or on behalf of the individual, provided the individual has reached 25 years of age |
Request to Use Own Transport to Excursion | School/Directorate/College/Centre | Dean/Director | One (1) year after completion of administrative use |