Pony Club Association
Of Victoria
What Is Risk Management?
Risk management is an organised approach to dealing with the possibility that an
event will impact negatively on an organisation. To risk manage involves creating
strategies, techniques, and an approach to recognising and confronting any event that
may threaten your Clubs ability to fulfil it’s objectives. Risk management could be
seen as asking and answering three basic questions:

What can go wrong?

What will we do if something goes wrong (either to prevent or limit the
chances of something going wrong or control the effects of something going
wrong)

If something happens which results in financial loss, how will we pay for it?
The Australian Standard defines “risk management” as:
“The culture, processes and structures that are directed towards the effective management of potential
opportunities and adverse effects”
Basically this means that risk management should be an integral part of managing
your Club, it should not be treated as something you do once and never look at again.
Chances are that you Club currently performs risk management but it is not
structured or implement in a manner that would provide evidence of your actions. It
may also mean that not all risks are addressed because there is no organised approach
to documenting potential risks and suggested solutions to reduce or eliminate these
risks.
To start to managing potential risks in our Club we will:

Establish the context – objectives, stakeholders, criteria, define key elements

Identify risks – what can happen, how can it happen

Analysis risks – review controls, likelihood’s, consequences, level of risk

Evaluate risks – evaluate risk, rank risks

Treat risks – identify options, select best response, develop treatment plans,
implement
What Is a Risk?
The Australian Standard defines “risk” as:
“The chance of something happening that will have an impact on objectives”
Types of risks could be
Sport & Recreation
Victoria

Legal risks – losses and costs arising from legal actions for breach of a
common law or statutory duty of care;

Physical risks – injuries to participants and the public;
Pony Club Association
Of Victoria
Sport & Recreation
Victoria

Financial risks – increased insurance premiums, costs associated with injuries
for business reasons, loss of financial stability and asset value, replacement
costs and earning capacity and increased external administrative costs;

Moral and ethical risks – loss of quality of participant experience and
confidence, adverse publicity and damage to image or reputation.