The Australian Adventure Activity Standards have been developed to introduce a consistent, national set of standards to manage risk and safety in outdoor activities.

But Bendigo Bushwalking and Outdoor Club president Kerry Cramer said the club and its volunteer leaders would not be in a position to meet the standards, both financially and in terms of training time.

The standards specify 20 competencies.

The new standards are a framework and not legally binding, but the official website notes that “compliance is often required by public and private land managers, regulatory agencies, insurers and others as a contractual or management condition”.

Mr Cramer said he was concerned that insurance companies would refuse to insure clubs unless they met the standards.

He is also worried that if activity leaders in such volunteer groups are required to undertake the training, they will be held liable for anything that might occur.

He explained that the Bendigo club’s leaders volunteered to organise activities and it was up to the members to ensure they had sufficient ability to undertake them.

But in a written response to such concerns, Outdoors Victoria – one of the organisations working on the standards – said combining five sets of state standards into one would reduce red tape for many operators.

The organisation said the new standards, like the existing Victorian standards, would only apply to activities involving people owed a duty of care by leaders.

In the statement, Outdoors Victoria also said there were no proposed changes to public land use arrangements in Victoria, and there was no requirement for formal training.

The state government also supports the standards.

But Mr Cramer believes clubs will fold if they are forced to meet the standards.

“The government says it wants people to go outdoors, but this will have the opposite effect,” he said.

He said he would like an explicit exemption of volunteer groups in the standards.