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2025 National Conference
Conference Program
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PRE-CONFERENCE CAMP TOUR
In a change from our '
usuall programming', this year we've shifted our popular camp tour to be a pre-conference event.
It’s always nice to take time out from your camp and to take a look at other sites and take the opportunity to discuss things that most camp managers would face.
With this in mind we are happy to announce that we will be running a post conference camp tour visiting:
Visit 1 - Angahook Holiday Camp
Angahook Holiday Camp can provide catered or self-catered facilities for schools, family groups, church and council youth groups, and government agencies. Opportunities exist to explore the local environment beaches and bush setting all year round. Situated along the Great Ocean Rd at Aireys Inlet.
Visit 2 - Baptist Camping Victoria: Camp Wilkin
Tucked away just off the Great Ocean Road, this idyllic camp will create the memories that bind your group for years. Located in Anglesea on the iconic Great Ocean Road, this 15 acre property is within an easy walk to magnificent beaches, the tranquil Anglesea River, peaceful bushwalks and shops. Accommodating for 188 in 42 cluster en-suited rooms.
Visit 3 - YMCA Camp Wyuna
Step into adventure at Camp Wyuna, where every moment is infused with excitement and discovery! Nestled at the gateway to the charming coastal town of Queenscliff, our camp is a hidden gem waiting to be explored. Set on five acres of pure natural beauty, where the dunes mingle with the rhythmic crashing of waves from Port Phillip Bay, here at Camp Wyuna, you're not just a visitor - you're an explorer, ready to uncover the wonders of this incredible landscape.
You can book your place on this pre-conference tour when registering to attend the conference.
Tour will depart the Conference Venue - Rydges Geelong at 9:30am and will return to the conference venue approximately 4:30pm.
This will conclude any Conference functions for Tuesday 9th of September. Delegates are free to explore the sites of Geelong for the evening.
Timings and sessions below may change without notice.
"Camp, the great Bubble"
Loves, loathes, breakthroughs, firsts, lasts, highs, lows; repeat. In this presentation Beau will talk about 10 years of working at a summer camp, being in outdoor ed for 20+ years, and how stepping away from the field, and the bubble, has given great insight into all those years at, on, or wanting to be on camp.
About Beau: Beau is a YouTuber, outdoor type, maker of things, lover of licorice, and a general do-er of weird and wonderful things. Ultimately, he’s curious. And, he satisfies his curiosity by undertaking both immense adventures and ones closer to home. He released his oddball book, ‘The Backyard Adventurer’ which is one man’s unique take on the world, how to go about life, and redefines and challenges what it means to go adventuring.
"Emergency management requirements for residential camps providers"
This workshop is designed to equip residential camp providers with a clear understanding of their statutory obligations under Australian Standard 3745: Planning for Emergencies in Facilities. Participants will gain practical insights into emergency management, critical incident response, and business continuity best practices tailored specifically for the residential camp environment. Through an interactive session, managers and directors will be guided through a structured self-audit to assess their current level of emergency preparedness, identify critical gaps, and develop a targeted action agenda to strengthen their camp’s resilience. The workshop will also explore the unique challenges faced by residential settings, including overnight supervision, remote locations, and managing large groups of participants during emergencies. This session is specifically designed for residential camp operators, directors, and senior managers seeking to enhance their compliance, capability, and confidence in managing emergencies while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all campers, staff, and visitors.
About Cheryl: With more than 25 years of experience in the resilience and adult education industry, Cheryl has dedicated herself to ensuring a wide range of organisations have become more ready to respond to emergencies, critical incidents and business disruptions. Adopting a pragmatic consulting approach, Cheryl leads the management and implementation of emergency management, adult education (including eLearning), critical incident management, business continuity and crisis management programs across multiple industries, including education, health care, aged care, professional services, public spaces, government, and manufacturing.
"Being OK with Failure: The Role of Camps for the Promotion of Wellbeing and Self-Confidence in Campers"
Being a kid these days can be pretty tough. Parents are working more than ever (sometimes even on their phones at the dinner table), neighbourhoods are filled with fast cars and less spaces to play with friends in the street, standardised testing at school can be pretty scary, and social media makes navigating friendships and social interactions a lot harder than they should be. No wonder there is a growing number of parents concerned for the health and happiness of their kids, and an increasing number of child and adolescent depression, anxiety, and stress-related diagnoses. This has led to kids these days being labelled “Generation Overwhelmed”.
As outdoor practitioners, working with young people in the outdoors can be a challenge as we move through our programming. In a society that is more risk-averse than ever, and with the costs of insurance and compliance rising, balancing safe practice while allowing kids to explore risk and what feels safe is a double-edged sword, but so important for future health and wellbeing. This session will explore allowing “beautiful failures” to occur through the concept of risk-benefit for health and include an interactive guided discussion for audience members to share ideas, comment, and ask questions.
About Michael: Dr Michael Down is an academic and researcher at The University of Notre Dame Australia (WA). His research interests include outdoor adventure education programming, adolescent health promotion, wellbeing, and the role of the outdoors in the Australian curriculum, and he has published numerous articles on these topics. He provides strategic advice to several outdoor-related organisations and believes in promoting the outdoors as a positive environment for people from all walks of life.Before academia, Michael began his outdoor career at an American summer camp in the mid-2000s. He got to see firsthand the impact that outdoor programming had for students, which sparked his enthusiasm and passion for working with people outside. This has led to many days and nights in the field with students, in Australia and overseas. As the dad of a small child now, he hopes his enthusiasm for the outdoors rubs off on the next generation!
"Life's too short to do things the way they've always been done"
Jodi shares her story of buying into a business in an industry she knew nothing about, including 45 horses that she equally knew nothing about. Needless-to-say, Jodi had a lot to learn; and quickly! Fast forward 9 years, she has taken the learnings from the most challenging of times, adapted and innovated to build a bigger and better business. Hear about Jodi’s next big (HUGE) challenge - to build a $100M world class action sports facility. Learn about how this came about, why, and when; and how she secured funding in a very competitive round of funding.
About Jodi: With a diverse background in Science (BSc in Zoology and Marine Biology; Honours in Conservation Genetics) and experience in Wedding Planning, running a school camp once seemed an unlikely proposition for Jodi. Over the past nine years, she has learnt what it takes to operate and grow a successful camp, adapting and innovating to create a truly unique offering within the industry. Now, with tenacity, drive, and ambition, Jodi is setting her sights on her most ambitious challenge yet: building a $100M adventure park.
"Sector Update"
After 2.5years as CEO of the Australian Camps Association (ACA), Peter will provide an update on the challenges and opportunities that we all face and how ACA has been working to advocate, support and assist all ACA Members and all camps within Australia. Peter will cover topics such as Government Relations & Advocacy, National Insurance Program, Census, Accreditation, Stakeholder Engagement, ACA Strategic Plan, Resource Support plus other related topics.
About Peter: Peter joined the ACA as CEO in early 2023 after nine years as CEO of the Northern Football Netball League (NFNL). Prior to working at the NFNL, Peter worked at AFL Victoria for 12 years as the Community Football Manager where he worked closely with all football leagues and clubs across the state. During this time, he was instrumental in providing support to all stakeholders, as well as improving the governance and management of many metro football leagues to make them a strong professional organisation. Peter has also worked closely with and to represent all stakeholders to federal/state/local government departments on key industry issues. Peter is very much a team focussed CEO who works closely with all staff to help the ACA achieve its strategic goals.
Evening Function Sponsored By:
Scott KoBeyond Leadership - Part 1: Dismantling the Myths of Leadership
Consider this: According to the Australian HR Institute, 69% of leaders experience burnout, compared to 58% of team members. What's going on? With all this focus on the importance of better leadership, why does it feel harder than ever to be a leader? In Part 1 of Beyond Leadership, Scott will examine this paradox, dismantle several common myths of leadership, and challenge audiences to reframe how we think about leadership.
About Scott: Scott Ko is a leadership strategist, social entrepreneur, and speaker with over two decades of experience in business, government, NFPs, and startups. He has lead organisations, founded social enterprises, and helped people in some of the most high-pressure environments change the way they show up. As the former CEO of Leadership Victoria, Scott possesses a unique view from the front lines of leadership development. He’s seen firsthand why so many well-intentioned programs fail to create lasting change, and what it really takes to build cultures of courage and initiative. His passion, especially in an era of AI and uncertainty, is to help leaders leverage their last human advantage of deep curiosity and creativity to think differently, navigate uncertainty, and lead with confidence. When not working, Scott is a sailor, a traveller, a writer, and an unabashed lover of cats.
Strengthening Standards: Accreditation, Bunks, Ropes & Operational Updates Across the Camps Sector
More detail to come.
About Presenter: Dwight Hulme is the Manager of Memberships and Preferred Suppliers at the Australian Camps Association, where he works closely with members and industry partners to help strengthen and support the camps and outdoor sector across Australia. Before stepping into this role, Dwight gained hands-on experience as Camp Manager at Stringbark Lodge, and earlier as Centre Manager and senior coach at Skylark Sports Gymnastics Centre. He also spent several years at Gymnastics Victoria, coordinating participation programs and managing events, volunteers, and stakeholder engagement. Drawing on a background in outdoor education, business and event management, Dwight enjoys practical problem-solving and collaborating with people who share a belief in the value of camps as places for connection, learning and growth.
Lizzie Pugh"The Gift of Feedback: How Leaders Build Culture Through Honest Conversations"
Feedback can be scary! Its connotation is overwhelmingly negative. Let’s turn that around - how can we create a space that encourages positive and constructive feedback to be delivered in a non-contrived way.
About Presenter: Lizzy is an educator & facilitator. With 17 years of experience in Outdoor Education, Lizzy brings both depth and heart to every program she leads. She began her journey in the U.S. camp world, where she discovered that every activity—no matter how small—can be a powerful conduit for learning and growth. Lizzy is a dedicated people leader known for her energy, insight, and uncanny ability to run a game at the drop of a hat. When she’s not facilitating team development or shaping the next generation of outdoor educators, she’s busy wrangling two energetic toddlers—adding “chief negotiator” to her impressive skill set.
Wayne Street"ACA's Inaugural Participation Census and Economic Impact: Insights"
This session will discuss this year’s work in collecting and analysing data on participation at Australian camps. Preliminary results will also be presented, revealing just how big a contribution camps make to local economies and how many people have a camps experience.
About Wayne: Wayne Street has been a regional development practitioner for over 40 years. His consulting company Street Ryan has worked on implementing opportunities for diversification and value adding in regions across Australia. Street Ryan pioneered the development of sport and recreation participation censuses with organisations like the AFL, Cricket Australia, Bowls Australia, and Rugby Australia and the censuses have become an important part of regular monitoring, promoting and planning for these national organisations.
"CTRL+ALT+DELETE: Reset Your Mindset, Reclaim Your Message, and Rise Online (Even When You're Under-Resourced)"
In a world demanding constant content, how do camps and outdoor providers stay visible without burning out? In this high-impact and actionable presentation, small business digital educator and tourism mentor Despina Karatzias unpacks the attention economy and the marketing pressure it places on already stretched camp and outdoor operators. Through CTRL+ALT+DELETE, Despina invites participants to hit reset, unpacking the digital conundrum, challenging conventional ideas of online success, and offering practical, sustainable marketing strategies that work even with limited time, tech, or team.
About Despina: Despina is a small business, tourism and digital educator, hot air balloon girl-turned-trainer and business coach, host of the Tourism Hub Podcast and all-round marketing whisperer for the under-resourced. She’s curious about what makes people tick (and click) and has spent the past two decades helping small businesses and tourism operators rise online without losing their minds. Her recent work delves into the complex world of AI, algorithms and attention, exploring why being offline might be the new power move.
David MarsdenThe Australian Adventure Activity Standard (AAAS) Review and Update
As camps respond to growing safety expectations and the need for inclusive, evidence-informed programming, the Australian Adventure Activity Standards (AAAS) continue to serve as a vital benchmark. This session explores the upcoming 2025–26 AAAS Review and its implications for the camping sector—highlighting how the revised standards support risk management, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and cultural safety. Learn how to engage with the review process and ensure the voices of camps are represented.
About Presenter: Dr David Marsden is a leading consultant in outdoor education, recreation, and adventure sports, and currently serves as Project Lead for the national review of the Australian Adventure Activity Standards (AAAS) for the Outdoor Council of Australia. With over 30 years' experience across the sector, David holds a PhD in outdoor education and is a recognised expert in risk management, curriculum design, and sector leadership. He is Director of The OREAS Group, a consultancy specialising in standards, safety, and strategic development for outdoor programs in Australia and internationally.
Dan WatersOutdoor Recreation and Leadership Qualification Review Update
The team form HumanAbility will present their latest work and findings as part of the Outdoor Recreation and Leadership Qualification review and explain how you can have your say.
About Presenter: Dan Waters is the Stakeholder Engagement and Policy Manager at HumanAbility. Dan has a long history in Sport and Recreation at club, state, and national levels. He looks forward connecting with industry participants and helping you have input into the outdoor leadership workforce of the future.
Bryce Turner"Training with Purpose: Linking Today’s Upskilling to Future Business Strategy"
In a rapidly evolving sector, the strength of any outdoor organisation lies in the capability of its people. This session explores how workforce upskilling and professionalisation can become powerful tools for aligning training with broader business strategy. Drawing on leadership experience across defence, education, and enterprise, Bryce Turner will share practical strategies to build a skilled, future-ready workforce. This session is designed for leaders, program managers, and training providers looking to align training with real-world business goals.
About Bryce: Bryce Turner is a passionate advocate for outdoor education, drawing on his formative experiences in the Australian Defence Force and a lifelong commitment to leadership in challenging environments. He is the CEO of Klepper Professional Services and the Klepper Training Academy, where he pioneers high-quality, real-world training programs tailored for educators and outdoor professionals. Bryce also serves as the Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Queensland, mentoring emerging leaders and fostering innovation in education and training. Guided by a strong academic foundation and practical expertise, Bryce lives the Klepper Training Academy vision of empowering individuals to unlock their own adventure through education.
Scott Ko"Beyond Leadership - Part 2: Practical Strategies for High-Performing Teams"
In Part 2 of Beyond Leadership, Scott will introduce the critical shift from admiring leadership traits to cultivating the behaviours that translate into high-performing teams. Not only will he provide audiences with practical strategies and new frameworks for building a culture of agency and courage at every level, he will also show audiences how to incorporate all of the insights shared by speakers into our organisations and communities.
About Scott: Scott Ko is a leadership strategist, social entrepreneur, and speaker with over two decades of experience in business, government, NFPs, and startups. He has lead organisations, founded social enterprises, and helped people in some of the most high-pressure environments change the way they show up. As the former CEO of Leadership Victoria, Scott possesses a unique view from the front lines of leadership development. He’s seen firsthand why so many well-intentioned programs fail to create lasting change, and what it really takes to build cultures of courage and initiative. His passion, especially in an era of AI and uncertainty, is to help leaders leverage their last human advantage of deep curiosity and creativity to think differently, navigate uncertainty, and lead with confidence. When not working, Scott is a sailor, a traveller, a writer, and an unabashed lover of cats.
The Australian Camps Association (ACA) is conducting an inaugural Census and Economic Impact Assessment for, and on behalf of, the Camps Industry across Australia. This initiative is being implemented to give timely and accurate information on the size, scope and importance of the industry and to ensure ACA continues to deliver the highest possible level of support to members and stakeholders...