Important note
Public events continue to be affected by COVID-19. Please stay informed of current NSW Public Health Orders and COVID Safety Plan requirements at nsw.gov.au/covid-19.
With the easing of restrictions under the Reopening NSW Roadmap event organisers should take care not to assume availability of dates or government resources for events. Regular planning processes, agency consultations and approvals from landholders and authorities are still required. This includes landholder endorsement of event and COVID safety plans.
(November 2021)
Risk assessment and risk management
During the planning phase, carefully consider potential risks involved with staging your event.
Identify, mitigate and manage risks
Invite as many people as possible involved with the event to identify potential risks. Risks can include:
- medical emergencies, including drug and alcohol issues, injuries, severe allergic reactions, heat stroke or exhaustion, life-threatening events, and mass casualty incidents which could overwhelm local health resources
- emergencies requiring involvement of the police or fire brigades
- terrorism
- poor financial planning and/or budget forecasting
- security breach
- inadequate security
- non-arrival of performers or deliveries of goods
- equipment failure
- property damage or loss
- food poisoning
- lost children
- breach of noise restrictions
- money handling
- larger than expected crowds
- sun exposure or adverse/extreme weather
- damage or injury from fireworks
- inadequate insurance
- electricity outages or surges
- lack of care with hazardous materials.
Risks should be carefully analysed and then rated according to likelihood and impact. Control measures should then be developed to reduce the likelihood of risks occurring. Comparing the benefits and costs will help you decide your mitigation strategies. Focus on risks that have significant impacts or consequences.
Your risk management plan should form part of your emergency management approach. Once you have developed your plan, continue to monitor, assess and manage risks throughout the planning of the event, and during the event itself.
Terrorism
If terrorism risks are identified, develop your response in partnership with your NSW Police Force Local Area Command. Guidance material on the Secure NSW website, particularly the Crowded Places Security Audit and Self-Assessment Tool, will help you identify any security vulnerabilities.
Keep records
Keep records of the risk management processes for legal reasons, and so you can review and improve risk management for future events.
Communicate risks
Share risk assessments and management plans with relevant stakeholders and agencies.
Risk management standards
Refer to the Australian Standard Risk Management (AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009) on the Standards Australia website.
The Standard is available for purchase from the SAI Global section.