Risk is a result of the uncertainties in life, but it can be managed rationally. The management of risk is not specific to any industry or activity, although the risk parameters may differ. In the early 1990's, there was a desire to provide a common framework for assessing environmental impacts of proposed activities. In late 1993, a joint Australian/New Zealand Standards Committee was set up, which developed a generic standard AS/NZS 4360 for risk management in 1995, and revised in 1999. The Committee had a widely representative composition, reflecting financial, public-sector, social and technical aspects. The document emphasises the importance of risk management in good management of any enterprise. The template of AS/NZS 4360 has been used to provide handbooks for particular sectors, as well as the basis of other guides produced outside the Committee framework.