With the rise in quirky initiatives to engage community and tourists, local governments have been involving their people (both employees and volunteers) in various activities that sometimes have unique risks.

Before devising any out-of-the-box initiatives, members should have a chat with the LGIS team to understand where their employees and volunteers are positioned when protection is concerned.

These days, local governments are coming up with fun and quirky plans to attract visitors to their areas and boost tourism. Activities like sky diving, rock climbing, treks and trails, wilderness exploration and wetland tours are just a few examples.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data suggests that there were 1.8 million visitor arrivals for year ending August 2022. Of this, people visiting friends and relatives accounted for 55% (613,000 visitors). Due to obvious reasons like COVID-19, this data (ending June 2019) was just 30%. Latest data also suggests that holiday travel accounted for 17% of 1.8M visitors compared to 46% in 2019.

Our members are leaving no stone unturned to attract visitors to boost their economy and increase footfall. 

Besides consulting LGIS for any sort of protection, members should assess the risks, implement controls and educate their people so that they understand the hazards and their responsibility. For volunteers this would typically include registration, induction, training, provision of personal protective equipment and work procedures.

As the PCBU, it is the responsibility of the local government to identify and assess the hazards, and provide volunteers and employees with information on these hazards and how they can take steps to mitigate the risks.

For support in developing and implementing your risk management process, contact the LGIS people risk team or your regional risk coordinator.