Permits Paperwork And A Surprisingly Big Duke Of Ed Footprint

Camp participation is slipping, permit processes can feel harder than they need to, and schools are asking for more outdoor experiences with fewer resources. So we pulled the practical threads together in one live Connect and Share Forum for the NSW and ACT outdoor industry, focused on what you can use right now to run better programs and grow demand.

We unpack fresh insights from the Australian Camps Association census, including what occupancy looks like nationwide, how dominant the school segment remains, and why shorter stays are changing the way camps plan programs. We also share the release of a new outdoor industry employment guidance resource for members, built to support both employers and employees with clearer expectations around working conditions, pay conversations, and career pathways across employees, contractors, volunteers, and trainees. If you’re managing staffing, training, or retention, this part is built for you.

Then we shift to access on public land, with Parks ACT walking through a new webpage that consolidates how commercial operators and organized groups can apply for permits across ACT parks and conservation areas. You’ll hear what the permit is really for, how processing works, what fees are waived for non-commercial groups, and when a multi activity permit can save time and admin. We close with a data rich update from the Office of Sport on the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in NSW, including participation trends, completion challenges, bronze changes that improve accessibility, and a clear signal from leaders that adventurous journeys are where support is most needed.

If you work in outdoor education, camps, guiding, adventure tourism, or youth development, subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more operators and schools can find it.

Transcript

elcome And Acknowledgement Of Country

SPEAKER_08 0:00

Another Friday.

SPEAKER_02 0:03

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.

ustralian Camps Census Key Numbers

ew Employment Guidance For Outdoors Work

urveys Awards Subsidies And Deadlines

SPEAKER_07 0:28

Good morning everyone. Welcome to another Connect and Share with Outdoors New South Wales and ACT on the 20th of March. It's episode seven of season four. So may I please acknowledge all of you here today? Thank you so much for being with us live. And um, hopefully lots of people every week catch up of our recordings, uh, both audio and visual, through their membership portal. But before we get into what we need to know today, can I please acknowledge the traditional owners and the lands in which we all come from today? Today I am on Darog Country, and I'd love to pay my respects to Elders Past, Present, and Emerg and those that are helping us connect better with our country for better interpretation for our visitors. So today we've got uh a couple of things going on. We've got Jason who's going to talk to us about the new platform that uh is on his website for licensed holders or or uh commercial users of ACT parks. And also we've got Karen from Office of Sport New South Wales to talk about the Duke of Edinburgh International War data. Some interesting stats there. I've had a sneak peek. So uh look forward to that one. And next week we're going to have a presentation on the Australia's biggest bushwalk. So if you haven't heard about this one, you must come along next week and find out more about that one. So this week, the Australian Camps Association released their census report. So a great platform to get some exposure for the camps industry. And as you can see there, Pete doing his uh 10 seconds of fame with Carl Stefanovic on the Today Show, just uh exposing the value of what camps provide. Um, and also um, yeah, the fact that we're out now only getting half of our kids into camp, which is uh quite concerning. We've got to change this. And no doubt with all the work that's been happening at OCA and its members, including ACA, uh, we might get there. But here's a bit of a snapshot out of that census. So obviously it was done in 2025, which means it captured the 24 data. And when you look at it, there's 64,000 beds in Australian camps right across Australia with an estimated 23.4 million bed nights. But the indication on the occupancy was just on 29%. So school participation was far the largest use of the segments, 70%, while interest groups, special interest groups, faith camps, independent travelers, which includes individuals and families, and also functions and events are the markets that these uh these camp providers have. Overnight participants stayed an average of six six point seven million nights, which was an average of 1.99 nights. Pardon me. If I could look back in time, I would say that uh we have decreased in our average length of stay. I know when I first started and we were doing all the data collection as we entered COVID, you know, the average stay was around three nights on a on a camp. So um interesting to see that we're sort of sitting at around 1.99 nights there. And I think that's a a testament to trying to do more with less in today's society. But um the estimated economic contribution from camps was$1.7 billion. That direct contribution was$688 million, so quite a significant uh chunk, which we know um when we look at the overall economic benefit across the whole country from the outdoor industry. We know it's sitting around$7 billion. So uh not surprising that uh the camp sector particularly is uh is that much. So big news today we have released the employment guidance for the outdoor industry, a practical guide for all you members. It is now available on your members' portal. You should have received an email this morning or a notification that that is in your portal. So a bit of a snapshot for you of what this includes. It was um a brainchild of our outdoor leader committee, um, but also um has had scrutinized um oversight from not only lawyers uh but also industry um uh key experts in this field. So why does this matter? We wanted to do something to support employers and employees with understanding how pay working conditions and career pathways look in the outdoor industry. It serves as a reference tool, but also a conversation starter. So it's really just a guide to help understand more about some of the legislative areas and non-legislative areas when it comes to working in the industry. It applies not just to employees but to contractors, volunteers, trainees, and other people that are in our industry. And it's also suitable for employees as well as employers. And you'll see there's a checklist in the guide for both of those different cohorts. So looking at what employees need to know when they enter the industry and what employers need to know to support their employees in the industry. So there you go. It is now available, it's on your portal, it is for members only. Um, so well done uh to the outdoor leader committee for making this the brainchild that it was. Um, and hopefully it'll be a great resource for all of our members into the future. So the AAAS review, here is the survey. This is your last chance to complete this survey. Three key areas that we look uh to change in the new in the revised edition of the AAAS. So we need your feedback on how you see these three changes taking effect for your particular operations. So if you haven't filled out that survey, please scan that QR code and go through that process because your feedback will only help make this a better result at the end of the day. A reminder about the Sunsafe competition. So if you've got some great photos that showcase your experiences and what you do with customers that are sunsafe, please enter them into this competition. You'll actually be able to have your photos used potentially by not only Cancer Council, but the Outdoor Council of Australia as well, showcasing your products and your experiences to the public. So if you enter, you might have a chance not only just to win prizes, but to have your company showcased across many different platforms. Reminder about the trainee subsidies. We know that we're on the skill shortage list. So that means if you want a trainee, you do get the opportunity to get some money into the bank for as an employer. So you can put two and a half thousand towards your employee or you can and you can put two and a half thousand towards their training. So that is available via the um all of the different uh incentives when it comes to traineeships. Reminder about the top tour guide awards. It does close on Friday, the 10th of April. So you've still got time to enter. Don't do it last minute because it does take a little bit of activity from yourself to pull that application together. But it'd be great to see some of our adventure guides be part of that top tour guide award. So just a reminder, 10th of April, that that closes. And our own awards, the Outdoor Industry Awards, are now open. Lots of different categories there that you can see on screen. You can enter via our portal very easily. And we're also calling for judges. So if you're not wanting to enter, but you're willing to support the process, please jump in and become one of our judges. Uh, we need you to help us grow the industry by providing great feedback to each of the entrants that uh come through the process. So there's the key dates on screen there for you. The awards close on the 10th of May, so you've got some time to pull your submission together. And the awards evening is on the 16th, which is the immediate following from the masterclass. So our masterclass this year is on the 15th and 16th of July. Uh, that evening, as I say, is the awards ceremony. And then we have our outdoor learning mini conference on the 17th and 18th of July. So this one's for all you teachers, all the practitioners that are getting kids outdoors more often. Uh, EOIs will close next week for all speakers. So if you've got something to contribute to the outdoor learning conference where you want to share some skills or share some findings that you've had with getting kids outdoors, this is your opportunity to get that knowledge across your whole cohort of teachers. Remember last week we had Lochlan from the Office of Sport talking to us about the opportunity for use of the Sport and Rec centres across the state. This closes on the 13th of April. So if you're interested in putting forward a submission to utilize some of those facilities, definitely scan that QR code and it'll take you straight in to the portal so you can submit your tender. Yeah, we have Jason. He's going to share with us uh a new web page which uh gives us a real insight into the commercial opportunities with Parks ACT. So Jason, over to you.

hy Parks ACT Built A Permit Page

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Thanks, Lori. Can you hear me okay?

SPEAKER_07 10:16

Absolutely. That's perfect.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Okay, yeah. Um yeah, I'm uh speaking to you from Ninewalk Country and um our nation's capital. So let me share my screen.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

There we go.

SPEAKER_07 10:40

It's always the technical part of the uh there we go, perfect.

ermit Applications Fees And Timeframes

ulti Activity Permits And Support Contacts

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Okay, great. Okay. Um yeah, so basically um yeah, how did this come about? I guess um so okay, so in in the ACT we um for any um for any commercial activity that is happening on um la land that is uh you know uh l ACT parks and conservation land. It could be Namaji National Park, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, our urban um Canberra nature parks, so any anywhere, even our um our uh commer our pine forests. Um so any any kind of commercial activity um that is happening, um, or or just any activity, whether it's groups, is really the best way to do it. So we've always had a permit system um that is run by another agency in um in the ACT government, and and so um we're so basically my area, which is like the visitor services area of um commercial tourism visitor services in ACT parks, we're sort of acting as a conduit uh to um uh help to either help or guide uh commercial uh um uh businesses to basically do the right thing and notify it's it's essentially just notify us of of what what you're doing in um in on on the land because and this is m mainly for safety, you know, um in case you know bushfires or or burnings that are happening or um uh uh a non-native, you know, non-native animal could control um that's happening. So um so we've basically um before we just sent emails and say, hey, please go to this website, but we we wanted to sort of uh you know create a page that we can just send it all and all the information is there. And we worked with the public land use team who actually processes the the applications um to you know share their information on this page. And so basically, um yeah, so we give a kind of rundown here on on the page, you know, what is you know what this is for. Um we work with um Visit Canberra um and so and we encourage the team. Um we encourage anyone who is you know maybe new to the the running trips in the ACT to kind of contact them and they have a great team to kind of help uh guide, you know, guide the uh any business for insights and advice, you know, to tailor to the business. A recent example would be Dimitri and his stargazing business when he wanted to to kind of add a product in Canberra, and now they're running tours at Casarina Sands, um, in the Murumbidji River corridor. And um, yeah, and and so that that's that's running now and and they're doing great. Um and and um and then um yeah, so we list examples of you know what kind of tours are are are included in this, and then applying for a permit because it's not really that user-friendly. So we want to just make sure that you know we get people to the right page so we get them to visit the events on the public land um webpage, and I'll go to that here, and it just you know talks about event permits, um, talking about the public land permit and you know, giving yourself at least 28 days processing um uh for higher impact activities, like we have the the rally, um uh the big uh rally every year. So we ask them to apply up to six months in advance, and then um there's a checklist, you know, what to expect, and then the apply for a permit. And on our page, I made sure that you know um what the application is titled because it kind of throws people off. Um, where is that? Um yeah, application to use a public place for events, so because that kind of throws people off. Oh, you know, but I thought this was for commercial activities. So, you know, basically this page is saying this is the one you just need to, you know, they picked the right drop-down menus. And then um it it this year, uh this financial year, a um up an application fee was added, and and um and this kind of threw some people off because it's um it is waived for non-commercial um because we get a lot of community groups, we uh organizations like dog sledding, um, you know, they they use the forest to to you know just uh get together and and run their dogs and on the the forest roads and in um I think Cohen Forest. So, you know, for for certain groups where you know they're not charging individuals, you know, for the their trip or their activity, it's it's waived. Um and so we kind of added this this chart here. And um and then we yeah, we we talk about the um the the processing times, um, and we do link to the site maps um because it's very important for people to you know choose which area, and and so uh we have this permit zone um for events on public land that they can refer to um when they are um you know submitting their application. Oh, and sorry, I also linked to the guided tours of Canberra because uh for all you know tours that are happening um in you know not just on the ACT parks, they're all here. Um and and so that's another thing when you are running um, you know, working with Visit Canberra, you know, you can have more um they'll they'll share your tours and stuff um on their uh their website. Um so multi-activity permit, there is an option for like if you're doing multiple trips um throughout the year, or you know, because you you don't want to pay that fee, you know, every time you apply, um, a perfect example is we work with outward bound, you know, they they're running um activities in you know Namaji National Park and Tibbonbilla quite regularly. So um, you know, there is an option and this is negotiable, but so it's you know, you can request it in the application whether, oh, can we do a 12-month or a two-year or something? And then they go back and forth. So what the public land um use team do is they co collate all the information that is in the um application, and then they wherever the tours or trips or activity is going, then they forward all the um all the documents to the area manager, um, you know, whether it's in the Murumbidji River Court or Tidbin Villa or you know, um the Canberra Nature Parks, Mulligan's Flat, Nemaji, and and so because it could include all you know more than just that. And so then the all of that goes to the the area manager and um and t to review and then maybe go back and request for more information and stuff. But um additionally, so like um, but some you know, some businesses they might not they're they're still not sure they have questions, so we link them to um to at the bottom the parks.tourism um email and the mobile phone, which is basically um that's my team, we answer that and we can help answer further questions and maybe put um people in direct contact to like the area manager if they just have some questions. But most of the time we just want to um um make sure they just get everything in to the into the application, and then you know they can have further correspondence after that. Um, so yeah, that's pretty much it. Um sorry, I did see a question.

SPEAKER_07 19:30

Yeah, don't just ask, is there like a school group um fee? I'm assuming it's that$2.80 per participant that's on screen there, is it?

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Yeah, um it could be, yeah. That's kind of a different a different thing. Um I think school well, see, school groups could I think they might fit into a different category because we do get um school groups that come to Tidbinbilla quite regularly, and then that's just done as um a um they they get invoiced, you know, later. But um so I'm not really sure. So like if it's like bringing school groups, you know, that might fit into a different category and you know, than commercial um in terms of that that permit space. Um if it's just doing like a ranger guide activity, like in Tidbinville Nature Reserve, which happens um a lot, um there I can actually um sorry. That's probably the most visited area, but yeah, that is the most visited area, and we do have like a ranger guide activity site. And and so right now this is kind of certain activities and certain times, and we guide schools to uh like there's a standard Ranger Guide activity, and then there's an inquiry form, and they that that's mostly dealing with um directly with the Tidbin Villa team. So that's kind of a different ball and chain, if you will.

SPEAKER_07 21:07

Um but um but I think your message is yeah, very um important. The fact that you know it's about their trip intention, it's about you know knowing what's going on, it's not replacing you know any sort of cost recovery, it's certainly not cost recovery.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

No, it's not about us you know making money or anything like that. It's just yeah, mostly just doing the right thing and and and notifying the area managers of you know who's using and when um in case anything is is going on that that you know might close, you know, we need to close that area or something.

SPEAKER_07 21:41

Yeah, you've got a couple of questions. Brian, you were first, you wanna ask?

&A Clubs Rallies And Park Closures

SPEAKER_03 21:47

Yes, um Brian Wood from Motorcycle Council, New South Wales. Um you have the Cohen motorcycle rally. Does that come under this sort of permit system?

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Yeah, any any of the rallies um like that. Um the could because it's the car rally is the big one which goes through most of the pine um uh forests. Um but yeah, that would definitely fall into the category um of this. And and and when you do open up the application, um you know, there's um you know what you just start answering the the question, you know, the questions and you you say non-urban, you know, like Cohen Forest, it could be a one-off, you know, and then the activity type is where you you know can put four-wheel drive or you know motorsports, motorcycle, bike rallies, and then so on. And then um, yeah, and then um, yeah, if you need power, if gate access and all of that. So it's just ticking all those boxes.

SPEAKER_08 22:51

Yeah, great.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

It's quite a comprehensive form, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:55

Yeah, because um social media arked up in New South Wales um because national parks had re released a a list of sort of permitted activities in various national parks. And um, and I think a lot of people were very surprised that um being able to hold sort of motorcycle type events, although I'm not sure they were rallies like Cohen is. Um I think there are people were very surprised that um it was a sort of permissible activity. Um just because it's permissible doesn't mean your application will be approved. But um yeah, and and I think there was a bit of a pile on, but the original article I guess merged a couple of issues, and this one just sort of popped up, and I think everyone sort of weighed in on it. So um, but yeah, okay, thanks for that.

SPEAKER_06 23:49

No worries. Thank you.

SPEAKER_09 23:52

Yeah, thanks, Jason. Um, yeah, just uh um I'm a commercial operator, but actually my question is uh my other hat is kept present at the Canberra Climbers Association. Um so I I probably need to get into the detail of this and find out. I guess my real question is does is this something we need to do as a as a club, incorporate a club in the ACT? I noticed when you're flicking through the menu, I didn't see rock climbing there. Oh yeah. Are we exempt as um given that we usually only have groups of 10 or 20 at the maximum?

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Yeah, I think it's always good to to just notify, like if it's an event, you know, like a a group uh uh uh you know, like a group. Where is it? Well, you got other activity. Um I yeah, you're right. I don't see rock climbing specifically. Um I mean this is only really Namagi.

SPEAKER_09 24:48

There's no really rock climbing apart from bouldering in the in the reserves, but it's Namagi.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

And and and with yeah, with those types of activities, I think anytime that that there's uh yes, yes. So here's an example of a um like a climbing group, you know, it's not commercial or anything. Um this is where a application would like after you tick all the boxes, it won't produce a um a fee, you know, to s to to do the to do it. But like yeah, if it's you know, hey, uh like uh if you got a Facebook event or something like the a bunch of group under uh you know, a bunch of people under this group are gonna get together here or or there. Um it's just saying it's just a way of saying, hey, you know, this is what we're doing, you know, it doesn't cost anything, but you know, so it's gonna attract so many people, and we just want to let you know that we're gonna be in this area, you know. Um and it's it's just that that's all it is, you know, it's not about um um uh yeah, it's not about the compliant uh compliance or anything, it's just an informal kind of gathering of people that you know it's a non-commercial activity, but it's good for the area ranger to know that this is happening because you know, like I said, sometimes the park the certain areas in the park might be closed at certain times due to you know um specific uh um operational activities, and and it's um we just want to make sure everyone is safe, you know, in those cases.

SPEAKER_09 26:23

Yeah, no, thank thanks for that. Sorry, just to follow up. Um that's just my question. Uh the other one is through this process, if there are closures, um, then if you've registered, I guess to use the term, uh, would you be notified? Like one of the common problems we have in we'll turn up to Barumba Rocks and we'll find that the gate is closed, but there's no notice anywhere around that. So people have driven all the way out to find I've got to then turn around turn turn back. That's a common problem. I don't know how that communication is going to could be enhanced through this, or if there are other it could be, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

This is a perfect example of why it's good to kind of you know use this as a way to to notify of the activity. Um another option, you know, is just to call the visitor center, you know, and and double check, hey, is the road to Barumba closed? You know, um uh and then they'll of course let you know and because they'll know exactly what what's closed and and what's planned and and everything.

SPEAKER_09 27:24

Yeah. Yeah, now we could do that, but I just wondered, do you want phone calls every day asking if the road's closed?

SPEAKER_01 27:30

Yeah, yeah, well, right. You know, well, that's what they're there for, you know. Um, but no, exactly. But that's why if if you know you you you're definitely doing kind of a somewhat informal gathering of, you know, a group of people, um, whether it's commercial or not, this is a good way to notify the uh, especially if you know the dates in advance, you know, within a month or or or something. Um, this is good for them to know.

unknown 27:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 27:57

Okay. No, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Yeah, sure, Zach.

SPEAKER_07 28:01

Well, thanks, Jason. That's um good info and always an opportunity with these connection shares to share uh all things like this. Um, so hopefully that was of use.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Thanks so much. Thanks for the opportunity. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_06 28:14

Pleasure. And now I'm gonna hand over to Karen, who's gonna take us through some amazing facts and figures.

SPEAKER_05 28:23

Good morning. Yes, thank you, Lori. Thanks for having me today, everyone. Um, so you've got the slide. I don't need to share screen. Thanks, Lori. It makes it much easier.

SPEAKER_07 28:32

Just go ding when you want the page turned.

SW Growth Completion Rates And Bronze Changes

SPEAKER_05 28:34

Fantastic. Um, firstly, I'm coming to you today from Dark and Jung Land on the Central Coast. I'm not in San Francisco or wherever that is. I think you said Laurie, San Francisco. Looks like it. Not today. I'm here on the sunny, or not sunny, rainy central coast, um, but beautiful part of the world nonetheless. Um, so today um I just want to share with you some insights, some facts and figures around the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award, Australia, um, which we call the Duke of Ed. We like to shorten things as Aussies, particularly in New South Wales. So the Duke of Ed here in New South Wales is run by the Office of Sport, which is my team. Um, I'm the team leader. I have a team of eight, and um, today I just wanted to share with you some insights. For those of you who don't know, um, the Duke of Ed is a global uh framework. It's across 130 countries. Our audience is 14 to 24 years of age, and the aim is to, well, it actually it's a framework for non-formal education to help young people find their purpose, place, and passion in the world, and to help them become world-ready. So the next slide, thanks Laurie, is a national overview. So I just want to point out nationally, Australia-wide, last year there were 34,728 young people registered to use the Duke of Ed framework. Across the nation, 736 Duke of Ed centers were active last year. Um, and interestingly, uh, more females than males. So 58% females, 42% males. Um, yeah, I just wanted to give that nation overview first before I talk specifically about New South Wales and and your customer base, which I'll flick to now. Thanks, Laurie. Which shows that New South Wales registrations for last year accounted for more than half of the nation's registrations. Go New South Wales. Yeah, just shows how big we are. Um, we've been around a long time. Uh, the Office of Sport has held the license for about 43 years. Previously, we were called Sport and Rec. Um, so we're a very mature organization here in New South Wales. It's a it's a um a brand that has a lot of integrity, and we're obviously very proud of what we do. This fig there's a lot of data on this um slide. So let you take some time to absorb, and I will send this out, Laurie. I'm happy for you to send this out to your members. Thanks, Kate. Um really proud of the completions increase. So 21% increase in completions. Still not where I'd like it. I would like everyone who registers to use the framework to complete their level, but um it's trending in the right direction, which is really good news. The little kayak over there that clearly I need to move because it's hiding the word sport, which is an important word for my uh my organization. Um, the impact of sport, our research showed that 91% of young people who used the Duke of Ed framework in 2025 now plan to participate in regular physical activity more often. So it's exciting. It's getting people, young people out there, getting them active, getting them outdoors, um, and hopefully continuing with our um our framework onto the next levels. Does anyone have any questions on this slide? There's a lot there.

SPEAKER_07 32:32

Karen, uh one thing I meant to ask the other day, but um good opportunity now. You've got the 21% increase on the completions, that 55% completion rate is that the whole levels? Is that like silver brush? Right.

SPEAKER_05 32:47

Correct. Yeah, that's across all the levels. Um, yeah, so I personally I still think that's um a very low rate. It's higher than the um national average, but in my opinion, it needs to be much higher because when young people register to use the framework, it's very exciting. They have a dream, a goal, a passion, um, and they're supported by family carers or adults around them. And for them not to achieve that goal, I think is is sad. So we're certainly focusing on lifting that completion rate. And the changes to the bronze make that um much more possible and much more achievable because now um those changes mean that 75% can of the use of the framework can be done in school time, it's in their class time. Um so it might mean that they're doing cooking, learning a new skill at school. So they can do 75% in class time, 25% at home. Um, but obviously they still need to do the adventurous journey at the end.

SPEAKER_07 33:54

And just for clarification, I think um, you know, as as we discussed, I automatically go to Jig of Ed leaders being our guys, that's not correct. So Jig of Ed leaders for for the yeah clarification on that term.

SPEAKER_05 34:08

Yeah, so Duke of Ed leaders um are required to go through an accreditation framework, um, and that's under our national um Duke of Ed policy. So uh last year we had 200 new Duke of Ed leaders come on board. So as part of their accreditation, they do level one training, which is four hours of online self-paced modular training, and then a four-hour level two training, which is an online interactive training run by my team. So once they've completed their training, we provide mentoring for the first 12 months, um, and then they're approved and accredited to continue on their journey as a leader. So we're really excited this year. We um we're looking at recognition of um certain milestones in the leader life cycle journey so that we can you know recognize and reward um at certain milestones, maybe 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, I think. And certainly our national office recognized those milestones as well. Because without Ducoved leaders, we don't have a framework that often their volunteers are often teachers who are giving up time after school in their lunch breaks. So they're really at the core of the framework and we're very grateful for them.

SPEAKER_07 35:31

Great. Just a question in the chat for you, Karen. Um Kara just mentioned, um asked, you know, is there uh any evidence uh behind the non-completions, why they're not completing?

SPEAKER_05 35:44

Not hard evidence, um, but certainly it really depends on, like I said, going back to Duke of Ed leaders, the the leader availability and the leader. The research does tell us that the leaders who are have the most resources and most supported by their organization deliver the most results. So that's often in the private school sector where sometimes people um it might be their primary job. Um, and in the government school setting, that's often much harder to achieve. So there's some data, but not hard evidence. So we're doing everything we can to lift that rate.

SPEAKER_07 36:25

Amazing.

SPEAKER_05 36:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 36:27

Any other questions on that slide? There's a lot, as as Karen said, there's a lot of people. I guess I do sorry, hi Karen.

SPEAKER_04 36:35

I just it's Kara here again. Um with I I'm also curious in terms of the percentage of how many um JUKIVED people are doing it through the leaders, the JUCAVEVED leaders, so the volunteers, the teachers, those kind of things, um, versus you know, um going through a commercial organization as well. Do you have sort of info on that?

ho Participates And How They Hear

eaders Want Help With Adventurous Journeys

SPEAKER_05 37:00

I sure do, yeah. So we only have two open award centers, so they're the commercial enterprises. Um actually, just a third one's just coming on board, um, which is uh a for-profit um educational facility. Um so yeah, it's very, very few. Um all the rest are either schools, surf clubs, uh St. John's Ambulance, PCYCs, um that kind of broad uh cross-section of the community, but predominantly schools. And our focus um this year is really looking at how we can get the Duke of Ed framework in government schools so that we can make it accessible for all young people. And that's why those changes to the bronze are really important because it's introductory level. Um, it has it we have uh made it much more accessible and inclusive by not having a major for bronze anymore. Um, the requirement of only one adventurous journey, even though some um schools are choosing to still use the practice journey, so that we can get more young people to have a taste of it and hopefully move on to the next levels. And and our data at the moment is showing that that's um it's being successful. So looking forward to this year where we should reap the benefits of that. Right, there's no more questions. I've got a few more slides of interest. So this is really just to help you understand your customer base. So this slide tells us by age, gender, and level. So um, as we we I mentioned earlier, it's predominantly females. Um, but you can see as the age changes, uh the gender changes. So the top line is 13. Um, you probably heard right from the beginning. I said the the framework's available for ages 14 and up. However, um we do approve 13-year-olds if they're part of a cohort, or you know, we don't want them to miss out if if they're just not old enough and the rest of their years going on on an adventurous journey or whatever. So there's a possibility there, but you can see that it drops off by the time they leave school. So it's very much a school age uh framework that's being used, but everyone is able, whoever registers has until their 25th birthday to complete their level. So there's plenty of opportunity. And we just had someone the other day, uh, a couple of weeks before their 25th birthday from overseas in New Zealand ring up and say, I've nearly I've I've done everything, I just need to get it signed off, and I'm nearly running out of time. So that was nice to see that someone valued it enough to come back and and finish what they started. You can see on the right hand side that obviously bronze is the biggest draw card, um, which we're hoping to see lift even more now that the frameworks change to make it more accessible. And then we have silver, and then again, gold, even fewer people. So, and if you think of that completion rate um of you know half of them, half of people who sign up finishing the level, that makes it a little bit scary in terms of gold that that that number is shrinking. We really want to lift that number so that young people can achieve this global recognition. And the good thing about gold is um there's two universities in New South Wales and another six across the nation who will adjust uh ATAR points or adjustment factors to get into a university course. So we get emails directly from the uni to verify that. So that's really exciting. Only for gold. Um, I thought this might be of interest to your members, Laurie. About this is a survey that we did with young people about how they first heard about the Duke of Ed. 84% heard about it at school. So I think that's a big indicator of the customer base, um, and I think that's an opportunity for your members, Lori, to reach out to schools and um maximize any opportunities there. 7% heard about it from parents or guardians, uh, 8% from friends, and 0.3% from social media or radio. So interesting. Interesting data. In terms of nationality, um, obviously there's a diverse diverse group of uh young people in Australia and uh using the Ducoved framework, predominantly Australian nationality, um the next uh uh cohort, Chinese, then Indian, English slash British, and then New Zealand. So that's interesting. Happy for you to take that away and look in your own regions. We've got them uh segmented there into Sydney Metro, Southern, Northern, and Western. And it might be something you want to look at for how you advertise or how you include different nationalities in your business model in your area. Next slide. Um, this was interesting too, just in terms of the changes. So more um more users of the framework identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, um, a 4.6% increase in language other than English. Interestingly, that we've had a decline in people affected by a disability signing up to use the Duke of Ed framework. So that's a bit of a watch point for us because we would would like um our framework to be accessible by everyone. Um so yeah, it's something for us to consider. And that you're attending uni or TAFE that uh refers to students who started the Duke of Ed probably at school and then continued it whilst in university or TAFE, more so than signing up whilst they're there. Interesting. Next. Now I thought this might be helpful. We've done a survey to all our Duke of Ed leaders. Um and at for this survey, we only had 126 responses out of, I should say 832 leaders actually. I've done a typo there. Um, but the majority said they want to know more about adventurous journeys. So we asked them if if we had a conference, what do you want to learn about? And they 71 of those responses said adventurous journeys.

SPEAKER_07 43:54

Sorry, Lori. No, I was just about to say that's um as as we discussed the other day, Karen. think this just highlights that um we've got a massive opportunity here that uh leaders are feeling quite um under resourced or unknown in this space or don't want to um you know what options are available which is where our industry can hopefully yeah definitely connect with that yeah there's there's an opportunity to harness right there so if that's 71 out of 126 responses um I can only imagine that it's um much higher in the cohort that haven't responded so we are seeking their responses we've put the survey back out to those who didn't respond with uh with a prize pack and incentives week on week because we really want that data on what they want to know and um how we can service that need.

SPEAKER_05 44:49

So we are thinking we might do webinars for our leaders on um adventurous journeys to help you know fill that knowledge gap um but I think it's an opportunity for the outdoors industry to be able to approach schools and and give them that knowledge.

ommon Activities Plus Access And Funding

SPEAKER_09 45:07

Absolutely happy to help wherever we can excellent and um this is just a takeaway I'm happy I mean you might want to share this put this on your websites or use this with in your own um marketing it really just shows that the Duke of Ed is an excellent framework non-formal education that helps build positive habits broaden horizons and adds value to young people's lives and the next one I think I've got one more slide is there oh yeah so this um it's not relating to the adventurous journey it's relating to the other pillars of the Duke of Ed framework but I thought you might find it interesting so young people have to do one hour a week of physical activity the top five there that people are picking is football netball basketball dance and tennis they need to do one hour a week of learning a new skill the majority is cooking interestingly the second's piano then reading driving and guitar and then they need to do their volume service so it's one hour a week or they can do two hours a fortnight three hours three weeks four hours in a four week period for any of these um interestingly it's coaching or teaching charity work leader of a club working at a food bank sewer kitchen or surf life saving so that's uh just a really good breakdown of what our young people are doing where they're spending their time when they're not on their phones or aiming to get them off them yes we do definitely um okay I think that's it yes so any questions happy to answer any now or you can email me go for it Zach yeah hi Karen I I'm just curious um that's fantastic thank you very much for the presentation I don't really get involved much with DV anymore uh I although I did in my other part of my business I did a quite a big job for Australian Navy cadets um developing a youth development curriculum forum uh 10 electives and seven core subjects we it was a two and a half year project five five staff putting it together and I'm just picking up on your point around where you just showed that last slide with the most common activities um my experience is and certainly in working with the Navy but also in other areas I found with youth um building a program like a bronze silver gold and essentially that's what we did we use that sort of type of Duke of ed framework for the Navy cadets is building in the coaching teaching component into the higher level so they go from a participant into then becoming some kind of mentor or coach. So not necessarily something that is just a voluntary but actually that's what these these kids want really helps them develop their leadership. So perhaps is there scope to you know maybe there's scope into the future to think about that sort of construct in your DV program.

SPEAKER_04 48:21

Yes Zach thank you great point there there is there um some schools already use that model where they have assistant leaders um so those young people who are completing silver um or gold can actually do their voluntary service um working with the bronze students so um it is kind of baked in if you like um and then we have those alumni coming back to help the program once they've finished gold so definitely great structure something we probably should be doing more of but yeah thanks for the feedback no thanks it's good to hear that that's actually um uh some organizations uh schools are doing that that's that's great yeah and actually Zach we've just um then the national office have just signed up with Army Cadets is it tri-services army cadets navy um looking at whole scale whole scale uh model for for army to do their Duke of it as well so it's definitely growing right now great no that's fantastic to hear thank you awesome any other questions I know we've got a few providers on screen they're experienced providers and I'm sure they're totally across it all go I've just got um yes go car go caro running running with another question here um it's similar to the last one which is are there stats around how many um people go through the program the framework um as a through a commercial group like a paid like some schools obviously are bringing in um providers to run a program for them it's like we've got you know we just need to outsource the whole as bolus thing on thinking more private schools um versus those who who it's all fully volunteer and the and the leaders that you train up are running the adventurous journeys and doing everything.

SPEAKER_05 50:22

Yes we do very very clear stats that show those organizations that are supported and resourced such as private schools have much higher completion rates. And is there do you have the percentage of how many like individuals are doing it through supported or through non-supported yeah we have all that data I don't have the top off the top of my head um but yes we do um I think it's did it say on that first that second slide how many schools are government and how many are non-government I think it does in the bottom left corner second that is second side yeah um here you go the purple 398 Duke of ed centers so 223 are non-government 147 are government so we don't know out of that though who would use commercial providers to assist though would we Aaron sorry no no actually no sorry I didn't get understand your question no we don't know which um we do on an individual level but no we don't track that data be that would be very interesting yeah yeah yeah show the reliance on the industry in particular I think yeah I think yeah I think there's probably a strong alignment with socioeconomic demographics so if you looked at um that that data and looked at the schools in those areas I think you would see that that's where the activity providers are coming in.

SPEAKER_07 51:48

Yeah I know even in one of local public schools they try to try to do it in-house um and I know with mixed results um which you know frighten me every day when I hear what's going on but you know this is probably why that area of delivery on expertise and supporting them better hopefully will drive better outcome.

SPEAKER_04 52:11

But yeah sorry Carey has has there been any occasions where there's been philanthropic um support like say some very you know wealthy um charitable person says hey I really want this particular you know a school within a lower socioeconomic area to have a program and they can't afford it are there any sort of instances where people just come in and said hey I want to pay for the advice to have a commercial operator come in I'm not sure about have a commercial operator but I've seen instances of um local uh clubs like large sporting clubs leaks clubs kind of sporting clubs um have come in and offered to fund use of the Duke of Ed framework um for particular schools in low socioeconomic demographics um I've got one at the moment who's offering to pay for the registration pay for the adventurous journey for low socioeconomic demographics schools um but national office for Duke of Ed also have disadvantaged youth funding and part of that can go for the registration fees and I think it's up to 400 don't quote me I have to check$400 can go towards an adventurous journey so that's and I know that that's being used um for commercial operators so individually young people can apply through their Duke of Ed centre um and there's also in the past has been access to um specialized award center funding where um such as a a school a non-government school has said I want to take these young people here it's gonna be interstate it's gonna be an adventurous journey whatever and I we need this much money to make it happen.

inal Thanks And Next Week Preview

SPEAKER_07 54:04

So contributions such as that can come from national understand thank you yeah no problem well thank you so much Karen for being with us this morning I think um yes we're all much the wiser about what's happening with Duke of Ed and as you know we're huge supporters and um here to help in any way we can um thank you guys for being with us today we um might close it off there and let you all get back to your days. Hope you have a fabulous week and we'll see you next week.

SPEAKER_02 54:40

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