National adventure activity framework gets a major update

Australia’s national adventure activity framework gets a major update

• Australian Adventure Activity Standard Version 2.0
• AAAS Information Hub

The Outdoor Council of Australia (OCA) has released Version 2.0 of the Australian Adventure Activity Standard (AAAS), marking the first comprehensive review of the national framework since its launch in 2019.

The release begins the next phase of the AAAS framework, with the Australian Adventure Activity Standard Version 2.0 and Core Australian Adventure Activity Good Practice Guide Version 2.0 released first, followed by updated Activity Good Practice Guides through a staged release process.

Alongside the updated documents, OCA will be launching the AAAS Information Hub later in October, a new tool designed to help the outdoor industry navigate, locate and understand information contained within the approved AAAS framework.

Together, the updated documents and Information Hub are intended to make the national framework more accessible and useful for the organisations and people delivering adventure activities involving dependent participants.

OCA Chair Lori Modde said Version 2.0 represented both an important update to the framework and an opportunity to improve how the industry engages with it.

The Australian Adventure Activity Standard belongs to the outdoor sector, and Version 2.0 reflects an enormous collective effort to ensure the framework continues to support the people and organisations delivering adventure activities across Australia.

The AAAS Information Hub

The Information Hub adds another important dimension. The AAAS framework contains a significant amount of detailed information across the Standard, Core Guide and activity-specific guidance. A tool that helps users locate and understand that information, while remaining grounded in the approved documents, has the potential to make the framework much easier to navigate and use.

The Information Hub can assist users to locate relevant material, understand and summarise provisions, clarify terminology, identify relevant sections across the framework and explore how documented practices relate to the guidance contained in approved AAAS documents.

Importantly, the Information Hub does not replace the AAAS or Good Practice Guides. The approved OCA documents remain the source material, and users should check the relevant documents and current versions before acting on information.

Staged release of Activity Good Practice Guides

The launch of Version 2.0 will take place through a staged release.

The Australian Adventure Activity Standard Version 2.0 and Core Australian Adventure Activity Good Practice Guide Version 2.0 form the first stage. Updated Activity Good Practice Guides will then be released progressively (over the next few months), with OCA communicating individual releases as they become available.

The staged approach reflects the structure of the AAAS framework. The Standard provides the overarching common foundation; the Core GPG provides good practice applying across adventure activities; Activity GPGs provide additional activity-specific practices, considerations and technical detail; and applicable Explanatory Notes provide supporting explanation, context or interpretation.

Source

Outdoor Council of Australia Launch Blog 
Lori Modde, OCA Chair
October 1, 2026