FAQs
Information about Fitness Australia registration, services and support
Information about Fitness Australia registration, services and support
While many fitness facilities and individual providers ask their clients to sign waivers, they may not always protect the provider. Courts have held that you can't “waive” your right to provide a duty of care and contracts saying you waive the right for personal injury may not protect you in all circumstances.
Given that there can never be complete safety in recreational and sporting activities that involve significant physical exertion, it is good practice to advise people of the potential risks when undertaking exercise [via a risk warning, rather than a waiver] and to include a disclaimer or notice that highlights the client’s responsibility to disclose all information that may affect exercise prescription and advice.
Fitness Australia recommends that professionals and businesses seek independent legal advice to determine the best wording for business protection.
In line with health and medical records, the APSS results should be kept on file for 7 years. The length of time that client APSS results remain “current” greatly depends on the results. If the client is considered low-moderate risk (i.e. does not tick YES to any of the Stage 1 questions), then it would be advisable to aim for a periodic review (e.g. annually) to ensure that nothing has changed. It is important to also remind clients that if any health conditions change at any time, their centre or trainer needs to be kept informed so that they can adjust prescribed exercise or refer accordingly (this should be included in a risk warning or disclaimer).
The updated version of the APSS is in a writable pdf version enabling businesses to electronically communicate and receive the tool with clients here.
No. Organisations cannot brand the tool and infer that it is part of their intellectual property as this is in breach of copyright law.
Options available include:
Using the national standard that has been endorsed by the national fitness, exercise and sports medicine peak bodies will deliver enhanced credibility and confidence to your clients.
For issues such as risk management and safety, demonstrating that you meet evidence-based national standards that re supported by industry authorities will make more of an impact than promoting your own logo in isolation.
You can add additional questions that you might ask a new client (e.g. client contact information, risk warnings/disclaimer statements or other information collected for the purposes of delivering your services). However, the questions and the process of the APSS must be used in their entirety, as they are in the tool, and must be referenced appropriately (Exercise and Sports Science Australia, Fitness Australia, Sports Medicine Australia and Exercise is Medicine Australia, 2019).
The reason for this is that they are evidence based and have been carefully designed to elicit client responses that will uncover health risks that might contra-indicate exercise and which require further guidance from a medical or allied health professional. Using only part of one of the stages or altering the intended process may prevent accurate risk factor calculation and risk assessment which could lead to unsafe and unsuitable exercise prescription and advice.
Stage 1 of the APSS tool is the compulsory stage, and so is expected to be used for all casual gym visits (either using gym facilities or participating in a group exercise class) to ensure businesses and professionals are meeting their duty of care in screening for high risk clients.
In relation to casual swim clients, the APSS would generally be applied for structured exercise as opposed to casual swimming; however Stage 1 could still be applied. Fitness Australia recommends that professionals and businesses liaise with Royal Life Saving and other Aquatics peak bodies for guidance in these situations.
No, one form is sufficient for ongoing attendance. It is recommended that he client management process that is used by a business or trainer should enable screening results to be kept on file and easily checked for casual visitors who wish to participate in a class or use a service.
The APSS has been designed for use with adults. It is not a system designed for use with children and does not take into account conditions specific to children or periods of childhood development that are related to specific vulnerabilities.
Standards related to provision of fitness services for children do stipulate that pre-exercise screening is an essential component of managing health risks for children undertaking exercise programs. The Kids in Gyms Guidelines includes some examples of screening questions suitable for children.
All minors must have a parent or Guardian present to sign a pre-exercise screening form and provide consent to the activities that will be undertaken. In addition, the supervising instructors must all hold a current Working with Children Check (or equivalent in your state or territory) and any instructor prescribing exercise programs or leading classes should hold relevant Exercise Professional Registration.
Related questions
When do I need to complete specific training for working with age groups e.g. Older Adults or Children?
Refer to Question 18 of the APSS Stage 2: "Do you have any diagnosed muscle, bone or joint problems that you have been told could be made worse by participating in physical activity/exercise?"
This question relates to a current problem that could be made worse by activity, rather than a past injury that a client has fully recovered from. Almost everyone has experienced some level of soreness following unaccustomed exercise or activity. This is a common physiological response and not what this question is designed to identify. Soreness due to unaccustomed activity is not the same as pain in the joint, muscle or bone. Pain is more extreme and may represent an injury or serious inflammatory episode or even infection. Many chronic conditions cause pain and / or limitations in daily tasks. If the person has a condition such as arthritis or back problems then this is important to know for exercise prescription.
If the 'yes' response is related to an acute problem then it is possible further medical guidance may be required. This is an example of where professional judgment is required and follow-up questions may be warranted.
In a rehabilitation situation, a treating Physiotherapist is an appropriate allied health professional to be overseeing the exercise program. If a client attends without a Physiotherapist, having them complete stage 1 of the APSS and provide written confirmation from their treating Physiotherapist to guide exercise prescription is required. In this case it may also be appropriate for the Exercise Professional to phone the Physiotherapist to gain verbal advice about the client’s conditions as well (and to document this).