Abstract
Inadequate risk assessment has been highlighted as a contributing factor in the deaths of participants on school outdoor education programs in Australia and internationally (White; 2014; Salmon et al, 2010; 2012). The current approach to risk assessment within this domain has traditionally focused on hazards and actors within the immediate context of the delivery of the activity; principally those associated with the 'people, equipment and the environment'. This presentation will discuss the development of a new risk assessment method for the led outdoor activity context. The method, theoretically underpinned by a systems-based model and understanding of accident causation (Rasmussen, 1997), considers hazards and actors beyond those associated solely with the immediate context of the activity. This model of accident causation has been demonstrated to be appropriate for understanding the accidents that occur during led outdoor activities, although it has yet to be applied to the proactive identification of hazards and risks.