Draft adventure tourism regulations released

Draft regulations to improve safety in the commercial adventure tourism and outdoor education industries are now available for consultation.

Sitting under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, they will require all commercial adventure tourism and outdoor education operators in New Zealand who provide activities over a pre-determined risk level to be registered and undergo a safety audit.

The regulations set out the definition of an adventure activity and what’s required to obtain a safety audit and to become registered.

They won’t apply to organisations that don’t charge fees, such as schools or voluntary clubs.

The Department of Labour is working to develop the registration and safety audit scheme so that operators will be able to meet the regulations at a reasonable cost.

Consultation on the draft regulations is open until 9 August – with the regulations due to come into effect from 1 October 2011.

A three-year transition period will also be in place to ensure all operators are registered and audited.