Snow Industry Pulse

The outdoor industry moves fast, but a few shifts right now are too big to ignore. We kick off with an update from the Snow Summit in Thredbo and the latest snow season economics, including how winter tourism supports regional NSW, the ACT, and alpine communities across Australia. With new data pointing to billions in direct and flow-on value and a huge share of spend staying in-region, we talk about what that means for operators planning products, staffing, and partnerships for the season ahead. 

Then we get into the tough stuff: small business insurance and public liability. After presenting at a Parliamentary Joint Committee hearing, we unpack why so many outdoor businesses are being pushed toward $20 million cover without a clear evidence base, what that does to participation and access, and where tort law reform might fit. We also share a practical, proven lever that too many providers overlook: working with specialist insurance brokers who understand outdoor risk management and can price the business based on reality, not assumptions. 

From there, we move through the standards and workforce updates that directly affect compliance and capability, including the Snow Activities Guidance Note, the Australian Adventure Activity Standards review, and the VET review for outdoor leadership qualifications. We also flag key business changes like Super Pay Day, credit card surcharge rules, child safe requirements, psychosocial hazards guidance, and the tools and events that help the sector stay connected, including the July masterclass, Outdoor Industry Awards, and the Outdoor Learning Conference. 

Subscribe so you do not miss the weekly updates, share this with a colleague who runs programs or employs staff, and leave a review with the one change you’ve seen in the past 12 months that the wider outdoor industry needs to understand.

Transcript

Welcome And Week Ahead

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Welcome to the Outdoors New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, weekly Outdoor Industry Connect and Share Forum. Where ideas thrive, collaborations spark, and our industry comes together to grow. Let's connect, share, and make an impact. This episode is recorded live with our professional outdoor friends and provided post-event as a resource for the outdoor industry.

Snow Summit Highlights And Priorities

Small Business Insurance And Liability Cover

Marketplace Deals And Snow Guidance

Standards Reviews And Industry Surveys

Trail Bike Toolkit And Regional Spend

Outdoor Career Video Preview

SPEAKER_07 0:28

And good morning everyone. Welcome to another Connect and Share with Outdoors New South Wales and ACT. So today on the 8th of May, as we feel the chill in the air and a bit of dusting of snow on the Alps, it's great to get into all the news for the week. And before we do that, I'd love to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands in which we all come from today and pay my respects to our just past, present, and those that we're working with to make sure that we connect country to culture to interpretation and then education. So let's jump in to what happened this week. We were at the Snow Summit down in Threadbow on the 5th and 6th of May, courtesy of Snow Resorts Australia. This was a fabulous opportunity to bring the whole snow ecosystem into one room and work out what we needed to do, not just for the coming season, but also into the future. There was close to 180 people that had come together from all across the states and territories that have snow resorts that included Tasmania, included the ACT with Coran Forest, and of course all our New South Wales and Victorian Alps as well. So it was a credible discussion, and we actually included a lot around the snowmaking aspect. We had discussions around demographics and changing populations and what that means for the experiences that we offer in the snow. But yes, we're absolutely privileged as Outdoors New South Wales ACT to be there and facilitate a panel as well as the round table. And this information was incredibly important before we had the round table. And you can see there that Josh promoted our alliance with the Snow Resorts Australia as the brand new member of OCA and sits with us as one of the members of the Outdoor Council of Australia now. But he released his latest data, which came from the SGS report. And you can see there that the snow season in Australia is not to be sneezed at$2.13 billion direct output from the snow season. So that's only winter. And with the flow-on effect of$5.71 billion. That$22,000 figure there is the actual employment that we have in the snow seasons across Australia. And any guess what that 90% might be? I'll give you a moment to think about it. What do you think the snow season would contribute by 90%? No idea. It is the spend in the actual region. So unlike a lot of tourism and a lot of uh different economies, the spend in a region is not necessarily flowing into that region. But the snow season, it does. So 90%, it's probably the highest one I've seen as far as its contribution direct to the place in which it's spent. So we had Christy McBain there who did an awesome job in uh really understanding what we needed, and I'm sure that there's going to be lots more discussions with Christy and all our parliamentarians as we work out really where we need assistance from the federal government. It was great to catch up also with Ashley Fell, which uh no stranger to Outdoors New South Wales, that's for sure. As you've seen many of the presentations I've shared with you from Macrindle Research and Ashley's work there, and she's now um representing herself as Ashleyfell.com.au and uh was presenting at the Threadbow Summit. And I got to meet Cooper Woods, uh held the medal, as did everyone, and uh it was great to connect with some of the athletes that are doing us proud uh in the snow sports that uh we have on offer. The following day I hardtailed it back to Sydney to make sure that we could present at the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. What that means, it's all about small business insurance. And I was joined with uh Scouts ACT, uh, where we presented our evidence for the hearing as the committee starts to deliberate what the government needs to do when it comes to small business insurance. The real key feature that I was pushing was the one we need to understand why our public liability went from 10 million to 20 million in some phase over the last few years for unjustified reasons. There's no evidence base on why that increase, and yet it seems to be the mandatory, no matter if you're exhibiting in a hall at a careers event, you need 20 million cover, or you take 10 people ab sailing, you need 20 million cover. So it's an interesting dichotomy that we find ourselves in where a lot of our land managers, our our our uh procurement processes require us to have substantial policies without any evidence base. The other thing I wanted to highlight is the tort law reform that we need to understand really uh what the insurance policy is covering us in legal action and how we can minimize that through potentially a tort law reform. But I did emphasize that the outdoor industry is doing a hell of a lot in managing its own risk, and this is a responsibility of industries right across all of Australia, and uh and how we are really leading the charge in connecting things like the Australian Activity at Standard, our good practice guides, and of course our uploads tracking to really ensure that we are taking the best steps in risk mitigation that we can and hence lowering our own premiums when it comes to insurance. But the one thing I really wanted to get across to the committee is we need to sing it from the rooftops that if you're not dealing with specialist brokers, then you're probably being charged a premium because of that. Specialist brokers understand your business, they help you mitigate your own risks, and uh that has certainly been uh proof in the pudding when we dealt with the Scouts ACT example, where a premium of 100,000 was reduced to 18,000 by dealing with a specialist broker and understanding the business in which they were conducting. So let's see what the results come of the committee. But uh, a very fruitful day in uh in Sydney uh at the parliamentary hearing. Now here's a new member benefit. So if you've got some equipment you want to offload, um if there's some uh facilities and things that you want to set certainly turn over, this is an opportunity through member marketplace. So uh as you can see here, Andy from BMAC from the Blue Mountains Adventure Company is taking advantage of that. And uh here's a free ad for him. So if anyone's interested in off-road bike trailer, uh he's got it listed at$10,000 there. So if you're interested, contact Andy directly and he'd be more than happy to talk to you about that. A reminder: the Snow Activities Guidance Note is now out. So as we prepare for the white season coming up, um this is a great opportunity to sit down and have a look at all your activity plans, your risk management plans, and see where the guidance note may assist you in some of the changes you might want to make to that. The AAAS review is certainly underway, and boy, we've got a big week ahead. If you're involved in any of the expert groups, they will all be meeting next week to really refine some of that uh change that we've been talking about, and then the drafts will be released before the 30th of June. July will be the time that we need all of you in the industry to have a look at those documents and provide your feedback with the last opportunity because these will be then refined in August and released in September. The other review that's taking part, which you all know only too well now, is the VET review. So, this is the qualifications, the CERT 3, the CERT 4, the Diploma of Outdoor Leadership, and uh they are under review as well. We were expecting them to be completed by June, but the timeline has been extended. I actually applaud that effort because there's been a hell of a lot of discussion and some refinement around some of the changes. So there was over uh two thousand comments on the uh the VET qualifications framework, and that is still being incorporated into feedback. So it's important that that's done before we then look at the valid consultation, which will take place uh from June this year. Then they'll do the reasonable checks and the finalization before they submit it to Jobs and Skills Australia for confirmation. And uh certainly we need then the minister's endorsement before we release in January 2027. Sounds like a long way away, but guys, it's only about seven months away, so just around the corner, and uh, we look forward to the outcome of the VET review. Here's a reminder around the outdoor industry standards set. So, courtesy of OCA, they have negotiated with Standards Australia a whole set of 35 different standards that all touch on requirements for the outdoor industry. Of course, as a business or an activity provider, you may only need one or two of those, but certainly the cost is less than what you would uh fork out for those two different standards. So this is a great opportunity. The whole 35 uh standards for a member's price of$649. So not a bad uh discount there when you consider that uh you you pretty much buy one standard between four and six hundred dollars. If you want the mobile friendly version and the mobile app, then it's even cheaper. It's only$131 for the mobile version. So a great opportunity so we can look at these standards and see how we can do better. And this is a call out to all those uh operators that are doing snorkeling. We really want to talk to you around the snorkeling good practice guide. Um, we've had very little engagement on this one, and I see this is a very important good practice guide. We've got to understand if we uh amend need to amend some of that good practice guide, or you know, does it still have its place? Um, New South Wales Maritime uh requiring more of you as an operator versus the good practice guide. So um we'd love to get you together uh very soon. So if you are part of a snorkeling community, please get in touch and we'll keep you uh in the loop. And this is probably the last opportunity because it's closes Friday, 15th of May, which is next week. Um, this is around the tour guide qualification. Now, this does sit very differently to the Human Ability uh outdoor leadership qualification, but we still get a lot of people through the tour guide course into our industry. And the opportunity is actually here to take advantage of this and maybe look at this qualification as it goes through its review and maybe give a little bit more context for the outdoor sector. So if we can have our say on this particular qualification and see if we can get more of an outdoor lens, that would be a great opportunity and a career path option for people going through this course. So if you know the course and you want to have your say, you can scan that QR code and jump in and complete that survey. The Trial Bike Committee will be launching these very soon. I'm expecting these to arrive on my doorstep, probably today, actually, off the printing press. But uh, this is our trail bike toolkit specialized for local government. Now, what we wanted to do is help local government in making those decisions around what to do with some of their crown land or or recreation land and how they could suit a market that would be quite economically worthwhile. Now, what we worked out from the survey, and I will release the full data to you another time, but here's a little tidbit hot off the press that uh trailbike riders when they go into regional uh New South Wales and even ACT, they're spending 73% more economically than your average tourist into those areas. So amazing, isn't it? So it's a great opportunity for councils to get behind potentially some of their land and secluding um an option for potentially a trail bike ride. Now I wanted to share with you another one hot off the press, uh, our outdoor career video. So this is courtesy of our outdoor leaders committee. Uh it's still in draft, so there's a few little ticks that I want to um do, but you'll get a bit of a feel for uh what our video looks like, and this will be shown at all our careers events as we're trying to get more people into our industry. So let me share with you our video.

SPEAKER_06 14:19

My outdoor adventure career has aligned more with my dreams than I ever could have imagined.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

The reality of my outdoor adventure career has far exceeded my dreams.

SPEAKER_06 14:29

I started there as a student, offered to volunteer and help out for a while, and eventually started getting a paid.

SPEAKER_03 14:34

So I did a week's worth of work experience, and at the end of that week of work experience, the next week they offered me a paid week of work.

SPEAKER_05 14:42

I get to do what I love every day, and it's fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Great places with great people. This career is not without its challenges.

SPEAKER_05 14:49

Keeping it financially viable, uh, equipment costs and training costs can be very high.

SPEAKER_03 14:55

My biggest challenge is work-life balance, and I say that because you know I have a very young family.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

There's not many careers or top where you get to work with such a diverse group of really amazing people.

SPEAKER_06 15:08

Guiding in New Zealand here in Australia?

SPEAKER_00 15:11

My canyoning guide, I take people rock climbing, I've guided in places like the Larry Pinta, Kakadu, the Kimberley, it's taken me to Tasmania to do uh canyoning there. Most recently of all, I worked with um Charlie Staron on a new Netflix movie.

SPEAKER_03 15:28

It's an amazing career, and I wouldn't change it. Stick with it. There are hard times, but if you stick with it, you do get lots out of this career and how it runs uh give me go.

Park Plans And Cave Access Updates

Women’s Leadership Program Update

SPEAKER_07 15:43

Keen to get your comments on that if you think it's um representing us well. Um, yeah, we'd love to hear. Uh now let me just get us going back on our presentation. There we go. Always fun jumping from one screen to the next. But uh yes, thank you to the team from the Outdoor Leaders Committee for helping us pull that together. And as I say, a few little refinements, but keen to get your feedback. Um, would love you to um provide that. Okay, so on to more news. Baldrock and Banu Banoo has got its plan and management out. It does close for comments on the 5th of June. So if this is an area that uh you operate, uh strongly urge you to jump in and have your say on the changes that they're making. Uh, certainly nothing is being removed. There's some more support around some infrastructure improvements, um, but there might be some changes about your access and uh certainly what you do in that park. So please have a look, copy us in on any uh correspondence you might be sending so we can support you. We Jasper Caves, we've been working with Crown Lands on some different intricacies to access and uh various questions. So if anyone is using We Jasper Caves, we're just getting a group together to work through some of that. Crown uh been very good in saying that you know they are wanting to know more from the operators on how the caves are being used and certainly uh which caves are best for different user groups. So um, yeah, please get in touch and let us know if you do use WeJasper because we'd love to involve you in these discussions to make sure you get better access and opportunities through WeJasper. Here's a beautiful little image. I don't know if anyone has seen this. I found this uh on one of the sites, but it gives you a real depth and breadth to how many different opportunities exist right across the Wee Jasper Valley. So, yes, if we can understand exactly what is provided in each of these and who they're they're suitable for, hopefully we'll be able to educate um Crown and provide a little bit more access right across the board. The Pinnacle Leadership Program is going so well, we're nearly in the final stages of cohort number two, and their graduation will be on the 16th of July this year. But cohort three is now open. So if you do have uh any um uh people that you know of that will benefit from a leadership program that are women, uh this is your their opportunity to get involved. So here's a little bit of video from Kai to tell you more about it.

SPEAKER_04 18:32

Something I see a lot in the outdoor industry is people stepping into leadership roles without actually being shown how to lead. They're capable, they care, but they're often figuring it out as they go. And that's where confidence drops, decision making gets harder, and things start to feel a bit uncertain. Because leadership isn't just a title, it is a skill set. That's why we created the Pinnacle Leadership Program, to give people the structure, mentorship, and practical tools to step into the leadership with a bit more clarity and direction. If that sounds like where you're at, reach out, have a chat, and hopefully we can help you head in the right direction with your leadership journey. Starting August 2026.

New Compliance Changes For Operators

July Masterclass Awards And Learning Conference

Closing Question And Sign Off

SPEAKER_07 19:17

So there you have it. Hopefully, we can get some magnificent women on the next cohort. So change is coming. Here's a reminder to all the businesses that have employees or are paying their own wage that uh Superpay Day is just around the corner. So that means from the 1st of July, uh your super needs to be paid the day you pay yourself or your staff. So that is a uh a requirement from the 1st of July. And from the 1st of October, remember that there will be no credit card surcharges. So the RBA has uh told the banks that they are no longer able to pass on any credit card surcharges. This means that uh the Department of Fair Trading rules means that we cannot also uh throw flow that on to our customers. That's the only way we can charge credit card charges, is if we are being charged credit card charges. So if we're not being charged, we can't charge the customer. So please make sure or your systems are set up to remove your credit card charges from the 30th of September this year. So you're ready for the 1st of October implementation. Uh again, for the small businesses, you've got the 20,000 instant asset write-off this year up to the 30th of June. We're not sure if this will be extended. So here's your opportunity to take anything that you've bought in your assets up to the value of 20,000 to certainly uh have that right written off in the tax year of 2525-26. Which year are we in? 2526. So if you're planning to buy anything right now, remember that uh include it in your tax pack to your accountant. And child safe. We actually wanted to update you from the 24th of April. There is now a little bit more requirement for all providers to ensure staff, volunteers, and students understand child protection law, not just be aware of it. I feel that we're very much on top of this, um, but it's really important that we remind you that uh child safe still has to be paramount to everything we do when we're working with kids. And certainly the education ministers are really embedding that in everything they do, um, including after-school hours, activities, camps, and of course, excursions. And psychosocial hazards still remains a real key topic for Safe Work Australia, and there's more tools there now through Safe Work New South Wales or Safe Work Australia on their website. Um, it certainly is ensuring that we look after our teams and are very well aware of. The potential psychosocial hazards that can happen in the workplace. And particularly at a time where we are short-staffed, this needs to be top of mind for a lot of our providers and employers. So jump into any of those websites and there's a lot of tools available, or reach out to us and we'll certainly support you with some of those. We do have some in your portal, but we hopefully will be adding some more for you soon. And the training pathways data set has been launched by Jobs and Skills Australia. So if you're in the area of supporting career progression or career entry, this is a good tool for people to look at what they can achieve if they do a certain qualification. So you can see if you type in the qualification, it gives you an idea of what you could be on the other side and how you could be employed in the industry. The employment guidance note. Sorry, this is a document document that's a practical guide for all our employees and employers, and certainly outlines what it means about being in the outdoor industry, but what are the things you need to comply with. So everything from WHS to first aid kids through the use of personal vehicles, there's a lot of content in there for all of our members to absorb and make sure their compliance is up to scratch, but also employees know what to expect. July is just around the corner and we've got three magnificent events for you. First of all, we have the 15th and 16th masterclass, which is where you get to work on your business as opposed to being in your business. And we look at all the key topics that will drive opportunity or change in the next two years. That night we'll be celebrating our outdoor industry awards, and the following two days after that is the outdoor learning conference for all our teachers and facilitators. So, first of all, the masterclass, it will be held at Wallemaia in Jervis Bay, just near Huskison at the beautiful Trinity Grammar Field Studies Center. So you can attend if you haven't received your email from us to say you've got some points there that have earned you a discount. You will probably be able to attend for the$380 for the two days. So make sure you check your emails, see where you got with your point score this year, and if you got a discount. This is the program. It is so jam-packed. So we will be discussing the current outcomes of the census, the industry trends, where it's going. We'll be talking about the AAAS review because we'll know exactly what the outcomes are by then. We'll be talking about e-safety. That is a big topic that I think we are not right across in our industry just yet. So we've got the e-safety commission coming along. We'll be talking a bit about cybersecurity. We'll have a NATCOR update as well as an uploads update from the new work that's being done on the uploads project. And the best part of the day, I think, is going to be jumping into really where we need to be in marketing in today's world because it's very, very different to previous worlds as we get more into the world of AI. And then speaking of AI, Thursday, we're going to be talking about systemization and AI and how it can empower your business to do more and be more efficient. So that's on Thursday. And then the final session before we jump into breakouts and uh streams is around sustainable businesses with EarthCheck. We do have two streams, we have an education stream and a tourism stream. So if you're more in the tourism area, let's talk to one of the state tourism bodies and how uh what they're doing and how we can capitalise on their work and how we can get involved with them. While the education stream will be talking to with the Duke of Edinburgh program. So they'll be coming to present about all the changes and uh things that are going on with the Duke of Ed program. And then that night, as I say, we have the awards. Now, please, this is a reminder, all the awards close on Sunday. So you have notice here now. Friday, today, tomorrow, Sunday morning is your opportunity to get your submissions in. So jump onto the website, click on the link, and it will take you to all of the categories that are on offer, which are on your screen now. You could enter any of these categories or multiple of these categories. And remember, if you're a member of Outdoors New South Wales ACT, it is free. So grab that code off your members' portal, put it into the checkout so as not to pay a cent by entering the Outdoor Industry Awards for New South Wales and ACT. Reminder for the education guys that if you want to enter any of those grey uh ones with the asterisk, you can go to our website, but you'll click through to the Outdoor Education Australia website to apply there. It will be judged by the same team, but because they flow on to the national level, it is important that you enter through the Outdoor Education Australia website to make sure that happens. So we're very excited about this and look forward to seeing your applications. It will be held at Huskison Hotel, so that's where we're going to be celebrating the whole industry, the finalists, and the award winners. The following two days, here's your outdoor learning conference schedule. So again, jam-packed two days of all things to do with getting kids outdoors more often. We've got some incredible panelists that are coming along and talking to us about case studies. We've got the Department of Education coming, not to mention, we'll be at the Trinity Grammar School Field Studies Centre and get to understand what they do there as our host. So look forward to seeing everyone at that one as well. And later on the year, NOEC is coming. Every two years we have the National Outdoor Education Conference. This year it's in Cairns, 26th of September through the 1st of October. So you can certainly register via the Outdoor Education Australia website. Now, I'm going to pose a question and we're going to close the recording. But we're going to have a discussion today with the team about what is the one thing that has changed in your work over the past 12 months that you think the wider outdoor industry needs to better understand. So that's going to be discussion offline, but thank you everyone for joining us for another Connect and Share. We look forward to seeing you next week.

SPEAKER_02 28:46

Thank you for joining the weekly Outdoor Industry Connect and Share Forum, brought to you by Outdoors, New South Wales, and Australian Capital Territory, your peak body for the outdoor industry. Together with our members, we're shaping the future of the outdoors. See you next week for more insights and collaboration.