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Resources
Excursions e-learning module
School staff with primary responsibility for organising a school camp and/or water-based activity must have completed the mandatory excursions e-learning module (located in – search for 'excursions') and are encouraged to repeat the model annually. Staff responsible for organising excursions of any other type are also encouraged to complete the module.
Forms – consent and medical information
The forms below have been developed by the department to ensure that schools’ legal obligations with regard to the duty of care towards students are met.
Schools are not required to use these exact forms if they have other communication methods for seeking consent and collecting information for excursions. However, schools should ensure that they do not make substantive modifications to the key information, or remove questions contained in these forms, without seeking advice from the department’s Legal Division.
- Local excursion annual consent form (DOCX) (staff login
- Sample local excursions notification (DOCX) (staff login
- Parent excursion consent form
- Medical information form – day excursions
- Medical information form – camps and overseas excursions
- Confidential medical history form for introductory scuba experience
Schools are also reminded that privacy legislation covers the collection of personal information by schools. Further information about the collection of personal information may be found at Privacy and Information Sharing.
Planning documentation – mandatory
Schools must complete the following documents as part of excursion planning:
- Excursions: principal approval form – this must be completed and submitted to the principal for all excursions that involve overnight, adventure activities, interstate travel, overseas travel or travel by air or water
- Camps, excursions, swimming and water-based activity checklist – checklist in line with department policy to assist staff and principals in planning excursions
- When conducting swimming and water-based activities: Student skills swimming and water-based activities template – to assess and document students’ experience, skills and preparation pertaining to the activity
- One of the following risk management templates, depending on the type of the excursion or camp:
- For local excursions: Risk assessment for local excursions (DOCX) (staff login – template for compulsory risk assessment for local excursions
- For all other excursions, including day, overnight, adventure activities, interstate, overseas, or travel by air or water: Excursions risk register and emergency management plan template (ERREMP) – the risk register template is mandatory for all excursions except local excursions. This includes examples and a template for the emergency management plan. A blank version of this template is also available for use – Blank excursion risk register and emergency management plan template
- While completing the mandatory ERREMP, schools can also refer to other template examples, depending on the type of excursion and the activities involved:
- Interstate travel: Example interstate camp excursion risk register and emergency management plan – for interstate excursions schools can, as needed, copy and paste these interstate-specific risks and emergency response procedures into their mandatory Excursions risk register and emergency management plan template . Schools can edit to ensure relevance for their excursion
- Adventure activities: Adventure activity specific risk register and emergency management
Planning documentation – optional
The following documents are optional resources to assist in the planning of excursions:
- Summary of excursion documentation – when planning your excursion, use this summary to make sure you have met the minimum documentation requirements
- Pre-activity check – suggested template for completion of the pre-activity check, a compulsory on the day check before embarking on any adventure activity
- Clothing and equipment list (general) – sample clothing/equipment list to be adapted by the school relevant to the activity undertaken
- Sample emergency response procedures – a tool to support schools in developing their emergency management plan
- Communications plan template – suggested template for communications plans for overnight, overseas, interstate excursions or adventure activities
Risk management guides
- Department of Education Risk Management Framework (DOCX) (staff login – this document outlines the department’s approach to risk management. It defines our risk management process, model, appetite, training, reporting and establishes the responsibilities for implementation
- Risk management for schools pocket guide – a tool to support the risk management process
Adventure activity specific risk register and emergency management plans
Schools may use the below risk registers and emergency management plans, developed for specific activities. School must tailor these to the individual circumstances of their activity and participating group. For guidance on specific activities, refer to the Guidance tab.
- Abseiling
- Artificial climbing and abseiling walls
- Bush walking
- Camping
- Canoeing and kayaking
- Challenge ropes courses
- Cycling
- Horse riding
- Orienteering
- Rafting
- Rock climbing
- Sailing
- SCUBA diving
- Sea kayaking
- Snorkelling
- Snow activities
- Surfing and paddle boarding
- Swimming and water-based activities
- Water skiing
- Windsurfing
Local school policy
A downloadable excursions policy template for Victorian government schools is available on the department’s School Policy Templates Portal – Camps and excursions (including local excursions) (staff login . Schools can modify the template to suit their local circumstances.
External information resources
- Ambulance
- Asthma
- Australian Adventure Activity
- Australian Camps Association
- Bureau of Meteorology Telephone Weather Services
- Bus Association of
- Council of Professional Teaching Associations of
- Country Fire
- Department of Environment, Land, Water and
- Equip Wilderness First Aid
- Life Saving
- Marine and for coastal waters forecast and observations
- Metropolitan Fire
- Outdoors
- Parks
- Red
- St Johns Ambulance
- State Emergency
- Transport Safety Victoria — Maritime
- Victoria
- Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
- Victorian Institute of
- WorkSafe
Reviewed 21 April 2026