Risk Management in Outdoor Health Practice
This information is provided as general guidance only and does not constitute professional, legal, insurance, or risk management advice. Requirements are highly context-specific. You are responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable laws, obtaining appropriate insurance, maintaining current qualifications, and seeking independent professional advice for your specific circumstances.
Outdoor health practice brings together therapeutic practices and natural environments with care, intention, and professional responsibility.
Risk management is part of the process that makes this possible.
What is Risk Management?
Risk management is the ongoing process of identifying, understanding, and responding to potential risks across all aspects of practice—from physical safety to psychological wellbeing, cultural respect to environmental care. It’s about creating the conditions where therapeutic outdoor experiences can happen with appropriate care and professional accountability.
In outdoor health, risk management isn’t just about avoiding harm. It’s about understanding what could go wrong across multiple domains, implementing thoughtful safeguards, and responding dynamically as conditions change. It’s what enables practitioners to work confidently in complex environments where therapeutic relationships meet the natural world.
This page connects practitioners to established Australian standards and frameworks, and shows how OHA’s Quality Framework helps integrate risk management thinking across outdoor and health practice.
Risk Management as Core Practice
Whether your primary training is in health, therapy, education, or outdoor activities, risk management must be integrated into all aspects of outdoor health practice—from initial planning through to delivery and review.
Dynamic risk assessment – The Australian Adventure Activity Standard describes this as “dynamic risk assessment”—the ongoing process of maintaining situational awareness, identifying changing hazards, and responding appropriately as conditions evolve during activities.
Effective risk management is:
- An ethical responsibility
- Integrated into planning, decision-making, and delivery
- Responsive to changing conditions and circumstances
- Continuous rather than completed once
- Applied across all risk domains simultaneously
- A core professional competency, rather than an administrative burden
Types of Risk
Outdoor health practitioners navigate risks across multiple domains, for example:
Risks to People
Physical & Environmental
Weather, terrain, wildlife, medical emergencies, equipment safety, transport, activity-specific hazards
Therapeutic & Psychological
Confidentiality in public spaces, therapeutic boundaries in outdoor settings, trauma-informed practice, emotional intensity, managing crises in remote locations, working with vulnerable people
Cultural & Ethical
Cultural safety, relationship with Country and Traditional Owners, Indigenous protocols, preventing cultural and spiritual harm, power dynamics
Risks to your Organisation/Business
Operational
Insurance adequacy, emergency procedures, policies and systems, documentation, equipment maintenance, staff training
Financial
Liability exposure, insurance claims, legal costs, loss of contracts, business continuity
Compliance
Work health and safety requirements, professional registration standards, employment arrangements, contractual obligations, land access permissions and licencing
Risks to the Environment
Ecological Impact
Land degradation, vegetation damage, wildlife disturbance, water quality, cumulative impacts of repeated use
Sustainability
Long-term viability of sites, relationship with landowners/managers, adherence to Leave No Trace principles, caring for Country
Risks to Professional Practice
Individual
Scope of practice boundaries, dual competencies (therapeutic + outdoor), professional registration requirements, supervision, continuing professional development
Systemic (e.g., meeting funding system requirements)
Quality monitoring, incident reporting and learning, evidence-informed practice, professional accountability, billing.
To You
Professional standing, referral relationships, registration status, employment prospects
To Your Organization
Public trust, funder confidence, insurance premiums, contract renewals, media attention
To the Sector
To the broader perception of outdoor health practice, regulatory scrutiny, insurance availability and cost, professional recognition, funding opportunities
Land Access Requirements
Land managers (national parks, state forests, local councils, private landowners) may require permits, licenses, or commercial operator agreements to conduct outdoor health services on their land. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and land type and typically include specific qualifications, insurance levels, risk management documentation, and adherence to land management guidelines.
Note: Incidents affecting one practitioner or organisation can impact the entire outdoor health sector’s reputation, access to insurance, and regulatory environment. This makes risk management a collective responsibility.
Prioritising and Responding to Risks
To assist in prioritising and mitigating risks, a risk matrix is used to categorise and score both ‘Likelihood’ (e.g. Almost certain, Likely, Moderate, Unlikely, Rare) and ‘Consequence (Insignificant, Minor, Moderate, Major, Catastrophic) of the risks. This usually occurs before and after mitigations are identified.
What Makes Outdoor Health Different
While outdoor activity standards, WHS frameworks, and health sector guidelines provide excellent foundations, outdoor health practice requires integration of therapeutic ethics with outdoor practice standards across all risk domains.
- How do therapeutic boundaries function when walking side-by-side?
- What does informed consent look like when working in unpredictable environments?
- How do we balance individual autonomy with group safety needs?
- When are we working within vs. beyond our scope of practice?
- How do we maintain confidentiality in public outdoor spaces?
- What are our responsibilities to Country and Traditional Owners?
- How do we care for environments we use therapeutically?
These questions require integrated thinking across therapeutic, outdoor, cultural, and environmental domains.
OHA’s Quality Framework
Outdoor Health Australia’s Quality Framework and Ethical Practice Standards addresses this integration, providing guidance for practitioners navigating risk management and ethical practice across therapeutic work, outdoor environments, cultural safety, and environmental care.
Explore the OHA Quality FrameworkResources for Outdoor Health Practice
For comprehensive links to Australian standards, professional associations, WHS regulators, and outdoor sector organizations, visit our Resources for Outdoor Health Practice page.
Links to Resource for Outdoor Health PracticeYour Next Steps
Explore OHA Resources
- Quality Framework and Ethical Practice Standards – Guidance for integrating outdoor and therapeutic practice
- Training and Professional Development – Building competencies and risk management skills across outdoor health practice
- Insurance for Outdoor Health Practice – Understanding coverage requirements
Join OHA
Become a member to connect with peers, access member events and support the development of quality resources for outdoor health practice.
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Need Support?
Questions about standards or scope of practice?
Consult AHPRA, your professional association, or review the OHA Quality Framework. Seek professional supervision for practice-specific guidance.
Concerns about your practice?
Seek supervision immediately and consult your professional association.
Building risk management skills?
Explore training through WHS regulators, outdoor organisations, and OHA professional development.
Your feedback on these resources is welcome! please email us at [email protected]
Last updated: 20 October 2025
