HISTORY OF OCA

• 2003: Outdoor Recreation Council of Australia Incorporated (ORCA), and the Australian Outdoor Education Council Incorporated (AOEC), merge to form OCA as an incorporated Association – with membership across: Outdoors New South Wales & Australian Capital Territory (ONSW&ACT), Outdoors Queensland (OQ), Outdoors Victoria (OV), Outdoors South Australia (OSA), Outdoors Western Australia (OWA).

• 2004-2021: The National Outdoor Leadership Registration Scheme (NOLRS), was established and overseen by OCA until 2021 when support ended due to the lack of adoption.

• 2005: Australian Camps Association (ACA) and Christian Venues Association (CVA) join OCA as members.

• 2011: Scouts Australia (Scouts) join OCA as a member.

• 2014: OCA and member organisations participate in the first stage of the Understanding and Preventing Led Outdoor Accidents Data System (UPLOADS) project.

• 2018: OCA hand-over oversight and administration of the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education (JOEE) to Outdoor Education Australia (OEA).

• 2019: OCA achieves major sector milestone with the release of the voluntary framework - Australian Adventure Activity Standards (AAAS) and Good Practice Guides (GPGs), spanning:

  • Abseiling & Climbing, Angling, Bushwalking, Camping, Coastal waters paddle-craft, Inland water paddle craft, Canyoning, Caving, Challenge courses, Cycling, Cycling touring & mountain biking, Horse trail riding and Snorkelling.

• 2020: OCA develops a national framework – including management plan template, for rebooting outdoor activities in a COVID-19 environment.

• 2021: OCA hosts the online OCA Summit 2021 with several priority Outdoor Industry issues being highlighted including:

  • Attraction & retention of outdoor workers, Outdoor qualifications & training pathways, and, Outdoor accreditation.

• 2022: Pre-election communication to all political parties highlighting outdoor industry issues namely: Capacity support, Education, Accreditation, & Support for a labour agreement.

• 2023: OCA transitions from an incorporated association to a company limited by guarantee, with constitutional objects spanning the following four (4) themes: a) Representation and collaboration, b) Advocacy, c) Safety, quality and sustainability, and, d) Research.

• 2024: Outdoor Education Australia (OEA), Outdoor Health Australia (OHA), Nature Based Outdoor Network of South Australia (NBONSA) joined OCA.

• 2025: Paddle Australia joined OCA, OCA appointed its first paid staff member to carry out the grant funded review of the AAAS. 

 

All board positions remain voluntary.