Travel risk management
How to assess travel risks
At Monash, we take travel safety seriously. Our approach is guided by the ISO31030: travel risk management guidelines, which helps us set a clear and consistent framework to keep our staff and students safe while travelling.
Whether it’s a short trip or a longer journey, we aim to make all University-related travel as safe and smooth as possible. Every trip requires some level of risk planning to make sure you’re prepared and supported. We won’t ever ask you to travel if the risks are deemed unacceptable.
The Travel Program Operations and Risk Management Plan (Word template) can be used to document risk management plans for more complex individual or group trips. If you’d like to talk through your travel plans and how to manage any potential risks, feel free to reach out to us at travelrisk@monash.edu.
| Location | A location-based risk assessment should occur early in the planning phase. Monash adheres to DFAT Smartraveller advice when considering where to enable travel. We expect that each traveller will review location-based information and advisory rating and subscribe to alerts for their destination. For instance, what are the issues surrounding local laws in the destination? How will you ensure all travellers are aware of these issues? |
| Activity | Activities that will occur during travel must be risk assessed. OHS centrally managed risk assessments are a good place to start to review standard mitigations early in planning. The activity risk assessment should be completed in SARAH after the traveller and their approver have actively discussed mitigation planning. For instance, will they be undertaking activities in remote regions? If so, what mitigations have they put in place? Tip: view the First Aid Procedure |
| Individual | Each traveller should consider their situation such as medical needs, visas, experience, and connections as they prepare to travel. If they have specific concerns about their ability to travel and the support they require, they should discuss them with their supervisor. |
Booking travel via Monash's approved travel management company
To help make University travel as smooth and safe as possible, Monash works with FCM Travel as our preferred travel management company (TMC). They’re here to support you—from booking trusted airlines and accommodation to making sure your travel plans meet your needs and align with our duty of care.
We encourage everyone travelling for Monash to book through FCM Travel. If something unexpected happens while you're travelling, FCM Travel can quickly locate your booking and assist you. In some cases, depending on the destination, type of activity, or traveller's personal circumstances, booking through FCM will be required for safety and risk management reasons. If that applies to your trip, you’ll be notified through NuTrip.
High risk travel
Some types of travel and locations are considered “high risk” and require more rigorous risk management and escalated approvals. High risk travel must be assessed by the Associate Director Travel Risk and Safety before confirming travel arrangements.
