Canberra Safety Information

"If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel."

Make sure travel insurance is sorted before travelling. Don't underestimate how important it is to have yourself and your family covered. Photocopy your policy and leave a copy with a friend or relative at home and take one copy with you.

Enjoy outdoor activities without the risk of sun damage.

Wear a long-sleeved shirt, a broad-brimmed hat, and take care to apply sunscreen to exposed skin. Reapply sunscreen after two hours, especially if you have been in the water.

During summer, avoid being outside in the middle of the day and take care to drink plenty of water in the warmer months.

Heading to the snow this winter? Avoid risking the safety of yourself and your family by taking some simple precautions to reduce the likelihood of any potential hazards.

Snow Safety Tips:

• Check weather and slope conditions before leaving
• Plan your day according to your level of ability
• Ski within your physical capacity and experience
• Always ski with one other person or in a group
• Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to arrive home
• Don’t venture outside patrolled ski areas unless you are experienced as you will be out of reach of immediate first aid assistance
• If you get lost, stop and find a sheltered spot, and put your skis crossed upright in the snow in a visible location.

Clothing:

It is a good idea to layer clothing to suit a variety of weather conditions. Water resistant clothes, ski gloves, hat, wool/moisture-absorbent socks, and an additional warm set of clothing in case of sudden weather changes. Sunscreen and lip protection is essential, along with goggles/sunglasses.

During summer Canberra boasts warm to very hot temperatures, making swimming a very popular activity. There are lots of bays and swimming beaches on the South Coast just a couple of hours from Canberra. Surf lifesavers supervise swimmers at patrolled beaches and their advice must be followed.

• Always swim or surf at patrolled beaches.
• Always swim between the red and yellow flags.
• Always swim under supervision.
• Read and obey the signs.
• If you are unsure of surf conditions, ask a lifeguard.
• Do not venture out far if swimming in a yellow flagged area. Yellow flags stand for 'Caution'.
• Do not swim alone or at beaches that are not patrolled by lifesavers.
• Do not swim immediately after a meal.
• Do not swim under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Do not swim if the beach is closed. Red flags will indicate 'Danger'.
• Never run or dive in the water, even if you have checked before, as water conditions can change.
• If you get into trouble in the water, stay calm. Raise one arm to signal for help, float and wait for lifeguard assistance.
• Learn how to spot a rip and keep clear of it. A rip can be spotted by the presence of sand-coloured or rippled water moving out to sea where the water on either side is generally cleaner. The waves may also be larger and breaking further out to sea on both sides of the rip.
• If you are caught in a rip, stay calm and raise one arm to signal for help, or swim diagonally across the rip rather than struggling against it.
• Keep the beach clean, put your rubbish in a bin and keep off the duned areas. They are there to preserve the beach environment.

Visitors to Australia are often more fearful of sharks than anything else in the country. This fear is exaggerated and unnecessary. The 'JAWS' movies of the 1980s spread misleading information to the western world, portraying sharks as highly dangerous creatures with a bloodlust for humans.

The reality is vastly different. The chances of encountering a shark at a beach on the South Coast let alone being attacked by one, are so low it is barely worth mentioning.

To help avoid the possibility of a shark attack, here are some commonsense rules to follow:

• Always heed the warnings of lifeguards at the beach
• Do not swim at night
• Do not swim in murky waters
• Do not swim in canals
• Do not swim if you are bleeding
• Do not throw food scraps into the water
• If fishing, do not discard fish scraps or guts into waters where people swim.