Accommodation

You may think your accommodation may be one of the safest places to be at Schoolies, but it can often be the place where a lot of risk taking behaviour occurs.

Below you’ll find a few key points to help keep you safe and happy in your accommodation. Let’s kick it off with two really easy tips:

1. Read your accommodation House Rules before you head off to Schoolies – It can help you avoid any nasty surprises or possibly being evicted. Some apartments won't allow you to bring in any glass or they can outline whether you are allowed any guests in your apartment and if so, how many and at what times.
2. Store your accommodation location in your phone – You might feel silly about dropping a pin in Google Maps or simply saving the address and contact number of where you are staying but trust us, streets can look very different in the dark.

Balcony safety

Behaving irresponsibly on balconies is extremely dangerous and at Safer Schoolies there is a zero tolerance to this behaviour. You face eviction, being charged by the police and most importantly, endangering your life. Balconies can become especially dangerous after drinking alcohol or using drugs. Stay well away from balconies if you and your friends are under the influence.

Take care on balconies and remember:

• Don’t sit on, lean over, climb or hang off the side of balconies. Accidents happen – you could slip and fall.
• Never ‘room hop’ or ‘balcony hop’ from balcony to balcony – one wrong move could prove fatal.
• Avoid overcrowding – take it inside or wind up the party.
• Don’t throw objects – Schoolies is a very busy time and there may be a lot of people walking below. Objects thrown or dropped from a height can become dangerous projectiles when they reach the ground.

Don't get caught up in the moment and make a silly mistake that could ruin your Schoolies, or your life.

Lift safety

It is important to remember that during Schoolies, lifts are under more stress and demand than usual, and there is the real risk that there will be a lot of people in a lift at any one time.

Do:

• wait for the next one if the lift is full
• pay attention to displayed load limits and don’t overload the lift
• stand clear of the doors.

Don’t:

• use the lift in the event of a fire – head to the stairs instead
• get on an overly crowded elevator – wait for the next one
• jump up and down in lifts
• rest on or push someone against the door.

If you get stuck in a lift:

• use the emergency phone or alarm to get help. If you have your phone on you, call Triple Zero (000)
• take the incident seriously - environments like this could induce or aggravate existing or underlying medical conditions such as anxiety, asthma or diabetes
• stay in the lift – do not attempt to pry open the doors or climb out of the roof
• stay calm and reassure anyone who is panicking.

Visitors

Different accommodation providers have different rules. Carefully consider if having visitors in your apartment is a good idea. It could be more trouble than it's worth.

• Always check your House Rules first as you may not be allowed to have visitors where you are staying.
• Always seek permission from your fellow roomies before you invite someone back to your accommodation.
• Trust your instincts – if something doesn’t feel right or you feel uncomfortable for any reason, ask your visitors to leave (e.g. suggest you all head down to the Schoolies Beach Hub).
• Be a considerate guest when visiting other’s accommodation – treat their accommodation as you would treat yours.

Theft

You may be used to your parentals locking up the house and keeping you safe at home but during Schoolies, it’s your responsibility to take care of your valuables.

• Keep all valuables in the hotel safe.
• Keep doors to connecting rooms locked at all times.
• Ensure your front door always secures completely when entering or exiting the building.
• At night or when you are not in your room in general, make sure that you keep all balcony doors locked.
• Don’t invite strangers in to your room (including school leavers you don’t know).
• If you see any suspicious activity, report it to your accommodation manager immediately.