SURF LIFE SAVING AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 2007–08

SURF LIFESAVING IN AUSTRALIA (continued)
HOW WE PROTECT OUR MEMBERS?
By joining an affi liated surf life saving club, an individual
also joins SLSA. Membership of SLSA provides access to
the comprehensive, nationally-accredited, surf lifesaving
training referred to above, the option to compete in
surf carnivals at local, branch, state, national and
international levels, as well as the protection of our
insurance and other policies.
As an organisation, we are entirely reliant on our
members to further our objectives. The safety and
wellbeing of our members is therefore of paramount
importance, and we have developed a number of policies
to ensure this. These policies, which can be found in full
on our website (www.slsa.com.au—see Resources and
Administration), include:
1.1 Junior Activities and Water Safety
1.10 Shark Safety
1.11 Crocodile Safety
1.14 Sharps Policy
1.15 Peer Group Support
2.1 Sun Safety
2.2 Lightning
2.3 Occupational Health and Safety
2.4 Rehabilitation and Return to Duties
3.1 Disinfection of Equipment
3.3 Pregnancy and the Surf Lifesaver
—Competition and Patrols
3.6 Epilepsy
3.8 Communicable Diseases
3.9 Asthma
5.10 Transgender/transsexual Athlete
5.2 Anti-Doping Policy
6.2 Privacy
6.3 Limiting and Permanent Disability
6.5 Member Safety and Wellbeing
6.5 Member Safety and Wellbeing: Annexure 1
—Child Protection
6.5 Member Safety and Wellbeing: Annexure 2
—Codes of Conduct
6.6 Grievance Procedure
6.9 Risk Management
6.15 Youth Policy
94 SURF LIFE SAVING AUSTRALIA—ANNUAL REPORT 2007–08
These policies are integral to SLSA’s risk management
procedures. SLSA provides all members with public liability
insurance, directors’ and offi cers’ insurance and personal
accident insurance. In addition, some states are able to
effect Workcover for active members.
PUBLIC LIABILITY
As noted elsewhere, from time to time our members
engage in high risk activities. In 2004 SLSA adopted a
number of OH&S and Risk Management policies along
with guidelines relating to the safety of our members.
These policies placed the responsibility with the BOM
(see page 49) to periodically review the organisation’s
risk management strategies. From time to time, special
attention has been given to reducing risk both proactively
and reactively in specifi c areas.
Since the public liability insurance crisis in 2002–03,
SLSA has operated its own public liability claims excess
pool. The level of current and anticipated claims under
this pool is closely monitored by the BOM and the Public
Liability Claims Committee (see page 53) in close liaison
with our insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson.
As the details are commercial-in-confi dence, they are
not recorded here, however current and anticipated
claims are manageable under current fund levels.
As part of ongoing risk management procedures,
during 2007–08, we prepared a new range of resources
which will be distributed to clubs and other entities in the
coming season. The ‘Safety First!’ campaign highlights to
all members, offi cers and clubs the need to be continually
mindful of the safety of our most important asset
—our members. The campaign will be accompanied
by a number of resources including four guides:
• Volume 1—Overview of
health and safety.
• Volume 2—Risk
assessment and
management.
• Volume 3—Safe
surf club practices
and supplementary
information.
• Volume 4—Event
sanctioning and
management.