Guideline review date: 24 September 2025
This guideline is provided to support schools in implementing the
managing risks in school curriculum activities procedure.
The
CARA planner (DOCX, 232KB) must be used for the specific school context in conjunction with this guideline considering additional risks, hazards and controls and including environmental, facility, equipment and student considerations.
For activities beyond the scope of this guideline, complete a CARA record using the
CARA generic template (DOCX, 98KB).
Activity scope
This guideline demonstrates the minimum safety standard for student participation in biological activities (e.g. studying animal tissues, live specimens, invertebrate organisms, microorganisms, plant material, fungi or tasting food samples grown in the school garden) to support curriculum delivery within, and external to, a science laboratory. This activity may also involve the use of a range of laboratory equipment (e.g. glassware, heating and digital equipment and chemicals).
The Department of Education is committed to ensuring that curriculum activities are planned for and managed in accordance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of students, staff and others.
Depending on the scope of this activity, other risk assessments may be required when planning. Curriculum activities encompassing more than 1 CARA guideline (e.g. marine organism activities when conducting fieldwork to investigate microorganisms) must comply with the requirements of all CARA guidelines appropriate to the activity.
For curriculum activities involving the introduction of agents or conditions that may contaminate food, consult the food experimentation activity guideline.
For curriculum activities involving observing and handling animals and animal remains, consult the animal observation and handling activity guideline.
For curriculum activities involving observing and handling marine animals and organisms, consult the marine organism activities activity guideline.
For activities conducted at a non-Department of Education venue, and/or when engaging external expertise, request written risk assessment advice and attach it to this CARA record.
For activities conducted off-site, schools must comply with the school excursions procedure.
Low risk
Activities involving low risk equipment and non-hazardous biological material (e.g. pre-prepared microscope slides, pond water, silkworms, foodstuffs).
Medium risk
Activities involving medium risk equipment and hazardous substances (e.g. handling and dissecting animals procured as laboratory specimens, growing cultures under controlled circumstances according to established protocols).
High risk
Activities involving high risk equipment and materials (e.g. using unknown samples such as swabs from environmental samples, high levels of heat, very low temperature materials, high pressures or low, full vacuums, high-voltage electricity [static and/or current], radiation emitters, hazardous biological materials and high-speed mechanical and/or moving devices and objects).
Extreme risk
Activities involving extreme risk processes and materials (e.g. growing cultures in uncontrolled environments, handling and/or dissecting animals not procured as a laboratory specimen).
Activity requirements
If any requirement cannot be met, the activity must not occur.
A registered teacher must be appointed to maintain overall responsibility for the activity.
Teachers, in collaboration with other adult supervisors of the planned activity, determine additional risks, hazards and control measures relevant to the activity and the specific school/group circumstances in order to lift the safety standard above the minimum identified in the CARA guideline. Consult review comments from previous CARA records to improve safety standards based on the advice from the previous supervisors of the activity at the school.
Prior consultation and collaboration with local expertise (e.g. lab manager) is required for local advice, emergency support mechanisms and additional supervision requirements to ensure participant and public safety.
The following activities are prohibited:
- taking human blood samples or using human blood products
- collecting samples from areas likely to pose risk of contamination by human pathogens including, but not limited to, human or animal body fluids, waste on toilets, carcasses, diseased tissue (plant or animal), hand basins, door handles, phones or computer keyboards
- swabbing raw poultry or surfaces used to prepare raw poultry
- sub-culturing swabs taken from food preparation surfaces
- incubating body fluids or other tissues in broths, plates or cultures
- incubating microbial cultures at temperatures higher than 30ºC.
Schools may sample human saliva, urine, cheek cell and/or DNA, however, students must only collect/handle their own samples.
All biological material is to be considered contaminated and potentially hazardous.
Schools must prevent and manage infection control in accordance with the infection control procedure and/or relevant Australian Standards (e.g. AS 2243.3—Safety in laboratories: Microbiological safety and containment). Utilise the infection control guideline for practical implementation advice.
Unfamiliar activities (e.g. from online sources) must be trialled without students to identify foreseeable hazards and plan safety processes. Do not proceed if risks of the activity outweigh educational outcomes.
Attach any additional information used to support safety in the activity to the CARA record (e.g. resources from Australian Science Teachers Association, published experiments or online risk assessment tools).