Tourism

Each year, tourism provides a healthy boost to the Northern Territory economy, supporting "16,000 jobs, employing 13% of the total Northern Territory workforce either directly or indirectly." The industry is made up of various operators and businesses including accommodation, tour operators, travel agencies, food and beverage businesses and other product and service providers. As a tour operator, under the 'Northern Territory Work Health and Safety National Uniform Legislation Act' and Regulations you and your workers have a duty of care to make sure no one is at risk from the work that you do.

NT WorkSafe in consultation with industry members and in particular tour operators in Central Australia has developed a handbook designed to help you with your safety obligations and to support and promote safe work practices for tour operators working in Central Australia and the Barkly region.

Tour operators are required to comply with laws that are relevant to the work they do such as transport, tourism and safety. The Act and Regulations apply to all businesses and organisations and are law. The objective of the Act is to create a safe workplace. A workplace is everywhere your workers do work for you. You can have more than one workplace. For example, a tour operator may have an office / retail shop to sell tours and manage bookings; and a site for their bus fleet and wash bay; the bus your guide and passengers travel in to get to your destinations; and the destinations where you take your passengers is a workplace.

A Safety Alert is an urgent, short communication that describes a work practice, incident or item that NT WorkSafe believes presents an immediate risk and requires corrective action. A Safety Alert provides background information, contributing factors and outlines controls, which NT WorkSafe has identified as practical measures that may assist eliminate or reduce the risk.