What is Risk Management?

All events have risks and at every UMSU event we have a responsibility to run things safely for our students and staff. Power outages, weather events, dangerous behaviours - there's many things that could get in the way of you running a really fun event. A Risk Assessment helps you to anticipate, evaluate, and take action against them before, during, and post event.

Risk Management is Mandatory

In simple terms, it's identifying what can go wrong (hazards), the likelihood of these issues, potential consequences, and creating a plan to address them. We call this the Risk Assessment. Just remember, having a Risk Assessment isn't optional – it's a must as per the University of Melbourne Risk Management Policy. 

Different Assessments for Different Events 

The Events department work with you to develop the risk assessment based on the type of activities happening at your event. We will determine your event as one of the following:
  • Low Risk Event: Includes but not limited to events on campus, small group activities, workshops, talks, info stalls - the simple stuff!
  • Medium Risk Event: Includes but not limited to events events with food and drink, over 50 people attending, paid artists / speakers, advertising or sponsorship, physical entertainment like rock climbing walls - the events where you may need contracts, runsheets, and casual staff to help you out. 
  • High Risk Event: Any event which, because of its nature and/or included elements, may pose a higher than usual risk to UMSU and/or the University and therefore may require additional oversight and management to ensure compliance obligations are met. Some examples of higher risk events include events with alcohol, after-hours or off-campus events, events where food is prepared or cooked onsite, events that require specific equipment or infrastructure, and events where more than 100 people are expected to attend. Most high risk events are run by the Events team already (O-week festivals, Diwali, Eid, etc) but if your department is running it's own high risk event, you'll need to work very closely with staff to determine how to do this safely and meeting all the legal requirements.

Note: Hosting an off-campus event? You'll still need a risk assessment, but it's less involved as a lot of the risk is passed onto the venue. Have a chat to us about your responsibilities here. 

ON THE DAY REQUIREMENTS

You won't be looking at your risk assessment the whole event, but there is some paperwork you have to do on the day. The UMSU risk checklist is to ensure everything remains safe. You must fill this out at the start of your event and send a copy to the Event Production Officer. While the form is comprehensive, always stay alert and vigilant – unexpected things can happen. You may need to fill out an incident report - see Events team for copies so you're ready for anything.

Familiarise yourself with building-specific emergency protocols. Look out for the University's Flip chart - Emergency response procedures. You'll find them at various spots like entrances, lecture halls, and libraries. These charts are your quick guide during emergencies, covering everything from evacuations to handling suspicious packages. 

Use our UMSU’s event lanyards to have important numbers on hand, and if in doubt, reach out to your Event team for support.



The UMSU Events Risk Assessment guidelines and related documentation have been developed to align with the University's best practice under AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk management – Principles
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