How to register as a leader

To become a leader, contact the Walks Secretary via email – walksec “at” canberrabushwalkingclub.org (replace “at” with @ ) for approval. The Walks Secretary is responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure that Club activities are led by capable leaders. If you have not previously led a Club walk, you will need to demonstrate to the Walks Secretary that you have the relevant abilities and experience. Discuss with them where you want to go and whether you can handle the trip’s degree of difficulty (distance, terrain, navigational complexities). They may discuss your proposed activity and your abilities with other Club members before accepting your offer to lead, or may suggest a co-leader. The Walks Secretary will suggest that you lead a basic all-on-track walk for your first activity.

Planning the trip

Gather the information you need to plan the trip e.g. check maps, guidebooks and climate information and speak to other members or Park rangers. Check whether any restrictions apply to the area where you are planning to walk e.g. limits on party size, designated campsites, fuel stove-only areas. Obtain any permits you need to camp or light a fire. You may need to check that your activity complies with the National Park’s Plan of Management if it is in a designated wilderness area.

Plan the route. It may be advisable to do a pre-trip reconnaissance of part or all of the route. You may need to work out distances and times required to intermediate points. Consider the need for alternatives to cope with weather changes or delays due to illness, injury or slower-than-expected progress.

If you are intending to cross private land, seek permission from the landowner beforehand.

You should also consider your party size. If you wish to run the walk with fewer than four participants, including yourself (e.g. if your group is experienced and you are carrying a Personal Locator Beacon – PLB) or more than 16 (because it is easy), you should seek approval from the Walks Secretary or Assistant Walks Secretary when you offer the activity for the Club program or before the activity starts.

You might also consider setting a limit below 16, e.g. in environmentally sensitive areas or if you are a new leader, to make group management easier. It is your decision whether to include a limit in your walk description. If you do not list a limit in your trip description, you may still decide later, after reviewing the weather forecast, experience levels of the people who wish to take part, or other factors, to set a limit.

If, for any reason, the party size drops below four after you leave home, you must, in consultation with the other party members, assess matters such as party strength, difficulty of terrain, remoteness and access to help via mobile phone or Personal Locator Beacon, before deciding whether or not it is safe to proceed. Similarly, if the party grows above the approved limit, you will need to decide on an appropriate course of action, taking into account the safety of the party and the environment in which you are walking.

It is highly desirable to have someone on the trip with a current first aid certificate e.g. from St John Ambulance or Red Cross.

Consider what information, other than what is in your walk description, you may need to give to those who contact you about your trip. Participants on walks rated Short/Easy will need only basic information but, for advanced activities, you may need to discuss matters such as any special equipment, skills or experience that are needed; availability of water, campsites and shelter; expected weather conditions; possible hazards; whether you expect to, or have to, swim. When talking to prospective participants, try to be as objective as possible: what is simple or easy to you may be daunting to someone new!

Offering an activity in Bilby

For a step-by-step guide to filling out the various fields when submitting an activity in Bilby, take a look at Getting started as a leader on Bilby.

A good activity description

A good description helps prospective participants match the trip to their capabilities. In January 2013, the CBC Committee approved the following hypothetical activity description, as a good example of what is required:

Saturday 15 December: Desperado Dell M/R

A circuit featuring a rocky viewpoint, a ferny creek and a swamp known for its birdlife. From Dingo Dam car park, climb steeply for 3 km on the Dagga Fire Trail to GR 765650 (GDA94) where a rocky outcrop gives views to Mt. Dipsy. The rest is off-track: descend to meet Daisy Creek and follow it upstream, with occasional rock scrambling, to Desperado Dell, then return to the cars via the scrubby unnamed ridge that starts at spot height 1137. A one-hour drive from Kambah, all on sealed road.

The Club’s system will also require you to fill in the Map Name and Transport (costs) fields.

Essentials of a good activity offer:

  • Date, trip name, grading, map name, transport details and limit on the number of participants if there is one
  • Enough specifics (e.g. place names, grid reference, spot heights) to allow a prospective participant to work out the route on a map.

Really useful:

  • Length in kilometres or hours
  • Height gain
  • Information on terrain difficulty
  • An image that indicates terrain difficulty.

Leave out:

Comments such as ˜This is my favourite part of the Dinkydellas” or “I first did this walk in 1973”. Such comments use up space without helping a prospective walker self-assess their capability for the walk.

Managing booking requests

The Club software will alert you by email to all booking requests that you receive. You can view the details of the requests through the Participants tab.

You need not accept anyone for your trip whose suitability you doubt, including a concern that a person may not participate harmoniously with others in the party. You may wish to ask for additional information, such as experience in outdoor activities or evidence that a requestor will interact well with a group (e.g. will be ready on time and courteous to others). Non-members are welcome on Club trips but without clear evidence of adequate experience, it is recommended that you not accept them on trips rated Long or Rough. If you need to reject someone who has expressed an interest in your trip because of lack of fitness or experience, it helps if you can suggest a more suitable alternative from the Club program. You should not accept any child, or any person who requires special support due to a disability, unless they are accompanied by a responsible adult or carer.

You should suggest that non-members read the Club’s Guidelines for Participants.

It is useful to remind participants that they will need to sign an Acknowledgment of Risks and Obligations form before taking part in your trip. This is done when a person books via Bilby or by signing a paper version of the form on the day. You should mention that the form requires them to advise you of any medical conditions which may affect them. In particular, you should ask whether new participants are asthmatic, epileptic or allergic to insect stings or bites. You should not disclose the medical information received to others without consent, except where necessary for medical treatment or where the safety of the party would otherwise be compromised. Anyone not prepared to sign the form should not book on Club walks and leaders are required to refuse participation to anyone who declines to sign the form when presenting for a walk.

Details including address, contact phone numbers, car availability and email address should be displayed in the Participants tab, for everyone who has requested a booking. Click on the Show link. If nothing displays it means that person has failed to update their privacy setting. Please instruct them to click Preferences in the left frame in Bilby and ensure that Name, Contact (number), Email and Emergency Contact details are set to “Visible to any Activity Owner” (i.e. Leader) and click the blue Update button at the bottom. If Emergency Contact details are still not displaying for you when you need them, then contact the Check-In officer and the Committee members who back up the Check-In officer as they have access to that information.

Privacy

In organising a trip, leaders should follow the Club’s privacy policy.

Clearly, a leader must share some of a participant’s information with other participants, but needs to be balanced with privacy requirements. This table lists the information that leaders should, or should not, share with participants:

InformationTo share or notTo allow interaction & for safety
Participant’s NameShareTo allow interaction & for safety
Email address
Share if the participant has answered ‘Yes’ in the ‘Share My Details’ field. Otherwise, use Blind Carbon Copy (Bcc).Not sharing protects privacy, and reduces the risk of spam and identity theft. Sharing allows participants to interact e.g. to share photographs after a walk
Pick-up addressesShare if the participant has answered ‘Yes’ in the ‘Share My Details’ field. Otherwise, the participant needs to negotiate transport with you e.g. arrange their own transport.Sharing allows a leader to send one email to all participants. Not sharing protects privacy, and reduces the risk of Spam and identity theft.
Phone numbersShare if the participant has answered ‘Yes’ in the ‘Share My Details’ field. Otherwise, do not share.Sharing allows a leader to send one email to all participants. Not sharing protects privacy, and reduces the risk of Spam and identity theft.
The entire trip listDo not shareThe trip list contains information that other participants do not need to know e.g. Vehicle registration, Member Status, and Comments.

Some participants may choose to restrict their emergency contact details from leaders. In an emergency, emergency services personnel can contact any of these Club Officers to access emergency contact details: the President, Training and Safety Officer, Walks Secretary, Assistant Walks Secretary, Membership Secretary and General Secretary.

A requestor may choose not to share their details for many legitimate reasons and, to the best extent possible, should not be treated differently from other participants. If a requestor has selected ‘No, do not share my details with other participants’ do not share that requestor’s email, phone or pick-up address with other participants. It is that requestor’s responsibility to arrange their own transport or to negotiate a special arrangement with you, for example, to arrange to get themselves to a meeting point. Note that you can still include that person in an email to all participants by putting their email address in the BCC field and not including their address and phone numbers in the body of the email. A participant may be willing for you to share some of their details, or for you to share their details with another single participant, rather than the whole group, to facilitate transport.

In the week before the walk

  • Decide on the transport arrangements for the trip. You may vary the normal Club carpooling system if you feel this is appropriate. For helpful information on transport arrangements please see the Transport Pooling Guidelines.
  • If intending to walk on public land, confirm that the area in which you are proposing to walk will not be closed to the public on the day(s) of your trip. Several ACT and NSW government sites listed under Links for leaders provide information on park closures, bushfire locations etc.
  • If intending to walk in a NSW State Forest, it may be worth contacting the NSW Department of Primary Industry’s Game Licensing Unit (02 6391 3750, game.licensing@dpi.nsw.gov.au). If a shooting application has been granted for the date of your trip, you must reroute, postpone, or cancel your trip.
  • Check the weather forecast; in hot weather, check for a Total Fire Ban.
  • If a programmed walk is not going to proceed for any reason (e.g. lack of starters, inclement weather), you should log in and cancel the walk.
  • Important Safety measure: the night before your activity is due to commence you are asked to change the status of your activity to Closed whether you have reached your participant limit or not. You are also asked to set a date and time of day when your activity is due to finish. Doing these things will trigger notifications in Bilby to you 5 hours after the finish time to remind you to check in and Complete your activity. It will also trigger Bilby to notify the Club’s Check In people if you have not Completed your activity.

Things to bring

You should take the following on the walk:

During the trip

At the meeting point for the trip

Groups normally meet in Canberra and travel together to the start point of the walk:

  • Make sure that everyone has arrived and that everyone has been introduced
  • Show the group the route on the map and explain what to expect along the way
  • All participants including the Leader must sign the Club’s Acknowledgment of Risks and Obligations form.

On the trip

  • Do not leave until everyone is ready
  • Appoint someone to walk at the back of the group if necessary, especially with a large group
  • Re-group regularly, especially at track junctions or if the trip is about to change direction
  • Count the participants occasionally. Check often that no one is left behind, especially after stops or in difficult conditions
  • Be alert for any hazards or any physical or other problems within the party
  • Watch the weather and adjust your plans if necessary
  • Monitor progress against your plan for the trip and make any adjustments necessary to ensure the trip’s smooth completion.

 In larger groups, consider:

  • Asking participants to choose a “buddy” and to check that their buddy is present at re-groups
  • Advising participants: ˜tell someone if you need to leave the party, call out if you can’t see the person in front of you, wait if you can’t see the person behind you”
  • Giving short briefings occasionally (e.g. “now we will go down this fire trail for about 20 minutes till we reach a creek”).

At the end of the walk

  • Ensure that all participants have returned
  • Arrange for drivers to be paid the amounts due under the Transport Pooling Guidelines and do not leave until all vehicles have started their engines.

On returning home

You may also wish to post a Trip Report containing information that may be relevant to future trips, such as closed access, new trails, or areas affected by fire or regrowth. The content of Trip Reports is only available to members.

Minimal impact bushwalking

The Club has developed its own Minimal Impact Bushwalking Code to which all participants in Club activities are bound. You have a responsibility to observe the Code and, if necessary, remind trip participants of their obligations.

Dealing with problems

If a problem arises, stay calm. Do not be afraid to ask for help from any member of the party or to ask for more experienced participants to take charge if you think they are better equipped to handle the situation. In emergencies on overnight trips, the party’s food, water and equipment may need to be pooled.

Group spread – faster walkers

If you allow faster members of the party to go ahead, or allow some members of the group to go via an alternate route, make sure that they understand where they are to wait for the rest of the group. Unless those other members are capable of proceeding as an independent group (and include someone with leadership experience) the waiting place should not be far ahead and the time interval should be short.

If you want the faster people to stay with the group, it is diplomatic to give them a reason, for instance, that you plan to make an unusual and interesting departure from the obvious route.

Group spread – slower walkers

There are different ways to manage slower walkers. Some leaders set a pace with which the slowest walker feels comfortable. Other leaders set a pace that pushes the slower members a little beyond their comfort levels; this is acceptable provided the slower members are not pushed beyond the level of safety. There is no foolproof way to judge whether a pace is unsafe or just uncomfortable, so it is wise to err on the side of caution, especially in hot weather.

In heavy scrub, or where there are many tracks, bad weather or other difficult conditions, make sure the party keeps together and in contact. Each person should be able to see the person immediately in front and should call out if contact is lost.

If your group is spreading out, don’t hesitate to ask others to help, for instance, as messengers, or shepherds.

Separation of a party member

If someone becomes separated from the party, call out or use a whistle or mobile phone to try to re-establish contact. It is generally not desirable to split the party to look for the separated person, although this can be considered if each of the groups going to search has a GPS or can otherwise be confident of getting back to a designated reassembly point. Check back to where the person was last seen. Investigate likely wrong routes. Spread any waiting party members at intervals across the direction of travel (but keep each person in the line in sight of the next). Try to imagine what the separated person would do and respond accordingly. If the separated person has not been found within a reasonable period of time, urgently contact the Club Check-In Officer or the alternate contact on the Emergency Information Sheet. You should not continue towards the destination or the next interim objective unless you believe the missing member is a competent walker who is capable of reaching the next objective independently and has probably decided to do so.

Leaders may ask the Check-In Officer to contact the Police. However, leaders can call the Police directly if they so prefer. Note that if a search is required Police will need to talk directly to the leader at some stage to ascertain details of where the separation occurred, the nature of the terrain and the probable movements and condition of the missing party member, including food, water and equipment carried.

Being unsure of your location

The use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) means that it is generally easy to find out where you are. GPS receivers may not work, however, in deep ravines, dense bush or if it is heavily overcast so, while you are strongly encouraged to carry them, you also need to be confident about your general navigational skills. You should encourage members of your party who have a GPS to bring it with them on your trip. It is also wise to carry a spare set of batteries for your GPS.

If you realise that you are unsure of your location, the first question to ask yourself is ˜does it really matter”? In most cases, you will still be able to get yourself to a known point and complete your walk without difficulty. For instance, you may be able to retrace your steps until you can re-orient yourself, climb to higher ground and take a GPS reading there or take bearings to known points or head towards a collecting feature, such as a ridge, track or watercourse, that will take you where you want to go.

If necessary, discuss options with experienced members of your party. Keep the party together. The convention of “if lost, wait until rescued” generally only applies if you are truly lost or you cannot move because of safety risks. In this case, you should set up camp in a prominent spot with access to water and use any aids you can to maximise your visibility. If you expect emergency services to be searching for you, stay at your campsite.

What if people don’t follow your instructions?

In signing the Club’s Acknowledgment of Risks and Obligations form, all participants agree “to accept the instructions of the leader of the activity”. Participation in Club activities is, however, voluntary, and participants retain the right to withdraw from an activity if they wish. A leader thus cannot force a participant to follow instructions. If explanation and encouragement do not result in the participant agreeing to a leader’s instructions, the leader no longer has a responsibility to the participant.

A wise precaution is to ensure that all the drivers are known to you and reliable. Even walkers with independent minds need a lift home.

Water crossings

These crossings are potentially dangerous and should be approached with care. Where the water is more than knee deep and running fast, crossings should be avoided. Read the Club’s river crossing guidelines.

Bad weather

If the weather is bad at the start of your trip or bad weather is forecast, consider cancelling or rerouting the trip. If you proceed, make sure that all participants are properly equipped for the conditions and that no one feels pressured into taking part.

If the trip is rerouted, inform the Check-In Officer of the revised route. If the route is changed at the last minute, it may not be possible or convenient to notify the change. Where a significant change of route occurs, the leader may phone, or send an email or text message to the Check-In Officer, if able to do so. If bad weather occurs during a trip, you should consider modifying or abandoning the trip. Pay particular attention to signs of distress in the party, particularly in cold, wet and windy conditions when the risk of hypothermia is high or in hot conditions when heat exhaustion and dehydration are possible.

Activities should not be undertaken in areas where a Total Fire Ban is in place, unless the activity is within an urban area. A Total Fire Ban differs from a Park fire ban; activities may continue, with caution, where there is a Park fire ban. During a multi-day walk, a leader may not know whether a Total Fire Ban has been declared, or a leader may discover that a Total Fire Ban has been declared but not be in a position to walk out safely. In such cases, leaders should minimise risks as much as practicable.

An unplanned night out

If your party suffers a prolonged delay, it may be better to spend a controlled night in the bush rather than risk trying to get back to the cars in the dark. If considering this option, remember that your first responsibility is to yourself and your party rather than to anxious relatives and friends. Stop early enough to find as suitable a spot as possible. Make use of available shelter and keep warm and dry as best you can. Depending on the conditions, the type of walk and the participants, you are likely to have an opportunity to self-rescue.

When you do get out, let the Check-In Officer know as soon as possible.

Discrimination and harassment

You should be familiar with the Club’s guidelines for dealing with discriminatory or harassing behaviour. Complaints about discriminatory or harassing behaviour should be referred to the Club’s Training and Safety Officer, or another Committee member, in the first instance.

Injury or illness on a trip

Read the Club’s Emergency Information Sheet (PDF). If an injury or illness does occur on your trip, it is important to act early. The need to look after a casualty has priority over any walking objectives. Do not assume that the medical condition will improve.

If someone in the party is suffering from heat stress, exhaustion or hypothermia, you and others in the party may be nearing the same state. Make use of the first aid skills and resources of the party to treat the casualty.

Regularly monitor and record details of the casualty’s condition and of any first aid that you administer. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to shorten or rearrange the trip, to lighten the casualty’s pack by distributing its contents; or to split the party to retrieve a vehicle or get help. On an overnight trip, it may also be necessary to camp to allow the casualty to recover. If this is going to result in the trip being delayed, attempt to contact the Check-In Officer or other Club office holder.

Incidents requiring police involvement

You may stumble on a crime scene on a walk. If this occurs, do not disturb the scene but note the location (take a GPS reading) and other details of the scene and report these to the police. In the unlikely event of a death on a Club trip, remember that you are not qualified to certify that death has occurred – the casualty may be alive but in a coma and needs to be treated accordingly. For your protection, take extensive notes. In any case, you should treat the site of the death with the same care as you would if it were a crime scene. Take notes of the circumstances surrounding the death; protect the body from animals and the elements; mark the spot clearly; and report to the police at the earliest possible opportunity.

Legal and insurance requirements

Duty of care

All participants in CBC activities owe a duty of care to other participants. If you are the activity leader or are more experienced, you owe a higher duty of care. If someone suffers injury or loss because you did not provide the level of care that a court considers reasonable in the circumstances, the court may require you to pay damages.

In assessing whether you provided an appropriate level of care, a court will consider:

  • whether you gave a warning about the hazard that contributed to the claimant’s loss or injury
  • whether the hazard was something inherent in the activity and/or should have been obvious to the claimant
  • whether the claimant themselves understood the risk (whether they signed the Club’s Acknowledgment of Risks and Obligations form is part of what the court may consider) and whether they should have taken more care
  • the relative levels of experience of the people involved.

Insurance

The Club’s public liability insurance policy is designed to pay, by way of compensation on behalf of the Insured (the Club and its members), all sums which the Insured shall become legally liable to pay in respect to injury and or damage as a result of an occurrence in connection with the insured activities of the Club, subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy.

The Club has Public Liability insurance cover to protect the Club, its leaders and its members from claims made by individuals or companies seeking damages for injury and/or property damage caused by negligent acts committed on Club bushwalks and some other activities. Our insurance policy only applies to Club activities and does not cover solo activities by Club members. The non-bushwalking activities covered by our insurance vary at the discretion of the insurer; some are excluded and some are covered only if participants sign a Risk Waiver (for risky activities in NSW). The list changes by the year and leaders need to check if they intend to undertake such activities.

Leader training

The Club conducts training for leaders in navigation and the use of a GPS. Participation in these activities will improve your skills, increase your confidence as a leader and broaden the range of trips you can lead. Other ad-hoc training activities are also offered. To see a list of upcoming training opportunities, go to Current Activities, select ‘Activity Type – Training’ and hit Search. The Club subsidises first aid training, e.g. with St John Ambulance or Red Cross. We suggest that you read Finding Your Way in the Bush, by George Carter, the Club’s own highly recommended guide.

Acknowledging Aboriginal Traditional Lands

As Club members, we explore the bush in the footsteps of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Before setting off on activities, Activity Owners/Leaders are encouraged to acknowledge that they are on Aboriginal Traditional Lands.

If there is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander present, who is from the indigenous country over which the activity will take place, they should be asked if they are willing to give a Welcome to Country. Failing that, another person may offer an Acknowledgement of Country. The following words may be used and adapted as necessary for an Acknowledgement of Country in various activities.

I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land where we are walking and pay my respect to elders both past and present. We walk where they have walked for many, many years.

References:

ACT Government – Welcome to Country

Australian Government – Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country

Updated: 07-11-2024