Presentation outline  Work backwards through “NOLRS” as a brief overview  Address why NOLRS exists  Give some detail of how the Scheme operates  Time for questions and comments

National Outdoor Leader Registration Scheme

Registration Scheme  Registration - recognition that an individual has met certain predetermined standards of operation  Schemes can be simple (all plumbers) or complex (left-handed plumbers, registered to work on solar hot water systems with wood-fired boosters)  NOLRS is a complex Scheme

National Outdoor Leader Registration Scheme

Outdoor Leaders  The Scheme’s complexity is due to:  the wide range of outdoor activities  the range of environmental contexts  the range of outdoor leader roles  For each activity there is between 4 and 7 registration levels

National Outdoor Leader Registration Scheme

National  The set of skills, knowledge and experience that is the basis to NOLRS is determined by the Outdoor Council of Australia  NOLRS operates nationally  Use and recognition of NOLRS varies across the nation (This is Australia. We can’t even agree on trailer plugs.)

Why NOLRS - safety  2 Choices  Anarchy  Regulation

Anarchy  Natural forces will ‘make things safe’ – market forces, civil and criminal justice, bad publicity will all work to remove unsafe operators  Some clients will unjustly pay the cost of this process

Regulation – by ‘qualification’  There are too many qualifications for most people with a duty-of-care to be able to tell which ones are OK  Qualifications are historical statements that do not attest to a persons current ability to undertake a role

Regulation – by ‘qualification’ & ‘logbook’  Again, the problem is determining the standards for ‘how much’. In general, those with the umbrella duty-of-care do not know appropriate standards

Regulation – by registration  Registration has a ‘shelf life’. Its expiry system ensure currency of a persons ability  Registration can be based on a multiplicity of training and assessment pathways. The suitability of the pathway is determined by experts in the sector

Regulation – by registration  NOLRS has a built in code of practice that ensures not just what outdoor leaders are able to do. But the manner in which it is done  The sets of skills, knowledge and experience for NOLRS are the result of a 12 year process within the outdoor sector

Regulation – by regulators  For most sectors of Australian society where self-regulation doesn’t occur, government legislation/regulation is implemented

Why NOLRS? - portability  NOLRS enables a person’s ability to perform a role in the outdoors across Australia  NOLRS national administration removes the barrier of needed ‘experts’ in each state and territory

Balancing the equation – the downside of NOLRS  Land managers and insurance agencies will need help to use registration as a benchmark  Those not registered may be disadvantaged with respect to employment/access  There will be a cost involved  Registration will require renewing  Registration and re-registration will create and increase record keeping and paperwork

NOLRS – the detail  2 Choices  Anarchy  Regulation

Registration levels for Mountain Biking  Mountain Bike Guide (Easy to intermediate terrain)  Mountain Bike Guide (Intermediate to difficult terrain)  Mountain Bike Instructor (Intermediate to difficult terrain)

Registration levels for Bushwalking  Restricted Bushwalking Guide  Bushwalking Guide (Tracked or Easy Untracked Areas)  Bushwalking Instructor (Tracked or Easy Untracked Areas)  Bushwalking Guide (Difficult and Trackless Areas)  Bushwalking Instructor (Difficult and Trackless Areas)  Bushwalking Guide (Unmodified Areas)  Bushwalking Instructor (Unmodified Areas)