Excursions

First aid

Excursion staff must have first aid and emergency response knowledge appropriate to the excursion location, the students involved and the activities undertaken by each group of students.

Staff must also have a first aid kit appropriate to the excursion location, the activities undertaken and the specific needs of participating students with health or medical conditions. Staff must also carefully document student first aid incidents and outcomes on eduSafe Plus or the school’s preferred third party platform.

The extent of the first aid training required by staff will be determined by:

• the environment in which the group will operate
• the remoteness of the location
• length of time the staff are required to provide patient support before definitive medical help arrives
• the resources available to support a patient in these conditions
• the known medical history of students and staff.

For excursions involving adventure activities or locations without readily accessible medical support, at least one member of staff responsible for each group of students must hold, as a minimum, a current first aid qualification and a current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) qualification.

Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2010 and the Code of Practice from Safe Work Australia, all first aiders should hold nationally recognised Statement/s of Attainment issued by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) for the relevant nationally endorsed unit/s of competency.

Three relevant first aid training courses for excursion staff include:

• Provide First Aid – Provides competencies required to recognise and respond to common life-threatening injuries or illnesses, including life-support using CPR, and to manage the casualty and incident until the arrival of medical or other assistance.
• Remote Area First Aid – Provides competencies advised for staff who will be on excursions which are more than an hour (by any means) from definitive care such as a hospital and where there is reliable vehicle access and communication options available.
• Wilderness First Aid – Provides competencies advised for staff who will be conducting excursions which are more than an hour (by any means) from definitive care such as a hospital, when access to the patient/s is difficult and and/or communication is unreliable. Wilderness first aid courses are also advised for staff who may be required to coordinate an emergency response or be required to care for a patient for an extended period of time prior to help arriving.

For more information about first aid, refer to: First Aid for Students and Staff.

Sun protection

Sun protection is required when the UV Index is above 3. Schools must ensure their Sun Protection policy applies to excursions.

For further information refer to Sun and UV Protection.

Further information on sun protection can be found at SunSmart.