Join us at the 12th Annual OHS Leaders Australia Summit Be part of Australia’s largest gathering of senior Health, Safety & Wellbeing executives 6th – 7th March, 2024, Hilton Hotel Brisbane Join us at the 12th Annual OHS Leaders Australia Summit Be part of Australia’s largest gathering of senior Health, Safety & Wellbeing executives 6th – 7th March, 2024, Hilton Hotel Brisbane Register Interest Testimonial Video Summit Themes Key themes and topics are developed by our
standing committee and advisory board from
the country's most respected workplace Health &
Safety heads . These will be addressed over the course
of the OHS Leaders Summit Australia.

Join us at the 12th Annual OHS Leaders
Australia Summit

BE PART OF AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST GATHERING
OF SENIOR HEALTH SAFETY & WELLBEING EXECUTIVES
6th – 7th March 2024,
HILTON HOTEL BRISBANE

Join the gathering

ABOUT THE EVENT

The OHS Leaders Summit Australia is the country’s premier event for senior health, safety and wellbeing executives, and in 2024 we will once again see this elite group come together.

Taking place on 6-7 March 2024 at the Hilton Hotel in Brisbane, the 12th annual OHS Leaders Summit is THE MEETING PLACE for over 150 Directors of Health, Safety and Wellbeing from across Australia.

The program features some of the most senior Health, Safety and Wellbeing leaders from across Australia and overseas, while more than 35 presentations will be taking place over the two days via keynotes, panel discussions, strategy workshops and targeted roundtables.

You will also be able to personalise your own agenda and maximise your time out of the office by engaging in only the most relevant sessions for your business.

SPEAKERS

Nigel Packham
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Nigel Packham

Associate Director, Safety and Mission Assurance, NASA Johnson Space Center

Kim Grady
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Kim Grady

Chief Health & Safety Officer, University of Sydney

Camilla Windfeld Khanna
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Camilla Windfeld Khanna

Group Head HSE, Safety, Sustainability & Insurance, Alinta Energy

Wade Needham
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Wade Needham

Director ESG & EHS, Natural Resources APAC

PROGRAM

The summit program is a draft and is subject to change.

Arrival & Registration

45min

Master of Ceremonies

Andrew Barrett, Chief Connector, Safety on Tap

5min

Andrew Barrett

Andrew loves solving challenges with people. He also loves sharing. There are so many challenges to work on, and many being solved every day - [...]

Welcome & Introduction – OHS Insights & Research Overview

Tyron McGurgan, CEO, Focus Network
Andrew Milroy, Vice President & Head of Research, Focus Network

OHS leaders are required to address an increasingly complex set of activities from demanding stakeholders. Compliance is becoming more challenging, the scope of OHS is extending and different OHS activities often reside in silos.

This presentation will highlight OHS pain points and share best practices in how to optimise OHS outcomes. It will place particular emphasis on the role of technology in managing OHS risk.


20min

Tyron McGurgan

Tyron McGurgan is a seasoned entrepreneur, media expert, and events professional boasting over 17 years of industry experience. As the CEO and [...]

Andrew Milroy

Andrew Milroy leads the research and advisory business at Focus Network. His work involves empowering organisations to make decisions more [...]

Opening Keynote Presentation

Kurt Warren, National HSEQ Manager, Hansen Yuncken

We are ready for our next step in safety but I don’t want more rules, checklists and procedures – The reality of that journey, a life lost, change made and an opportunity to leave a legacy through an EU

Leadership mandate to advance safety performance through people set a course of listening to workers, challenging perceptions and norms with strategy development. Execution of that strategy was confronting and a learning experience from Boardroom to workers that change their meaning of safety performance.

A worker fatality during the delivery of the strategy cemented their conviction to progress and an opportunity to share, research and advocate for industry change through an extensive EU that commenced in March 2023.

This presentation is the before, during and outcomes from the last four years, culminating in the future state opportunity of the EU.



40min

Kurt Warren

Kurt is a highly accomplished, insightful & business focused safety executive offering over 20 years’ experience in a range of safety [...]

KEYNOTE PANEL DISCUSSION – Driving Business Value and Engendering Innovation by Aligning EHS with Organisational Strategy

Panellists:

Aldo Souza, Managing Director Strategy - Australia & New Zealand, Accenture
Cara Williams, Head of Safety & Wellbeing, Bolton Clarke
Moderator:
Andrew Milroy, Vice President & Head of Research, Focus Network

Completed by over 1,000 global EHS leaders spanning 19 industries, the recently completed Global EHS Readiness Index (GERI) report, shone a light on EHS maturity and the future-readiness of the modern organisation.

One of the more alarming statistics highlighted that 46% of EHS leaders cite achieving executive support for tech modernization as their top concern. Competing priorities and budget constraints mean that executives require deeply compelling justification to commit to additional tech investment. However, it’s not just about winning share of wallet but share of mind as well.

Join Andrew Milroy from Focus Network as he presents the GERI highlights and chairs a panel discussion to help EHS leaders effectively navigate the challenging waters of c-suite endorsement for technology modernization. Drawing on the unique experiences of both an EHS leader and a senior consultant, the discussion will deliver great insight into how to build an effective business case to secure executive support to advance your own EHS program maturity and future-readiness.

 

30min

Aldo Souza

C-level seasoned executive with solid experience having worked for Accenture in Strategy & Management Consulting as well as for Anglo American [...]

Cara Williams

Cara is the Head of Safety and Wellbeing at Bolton Clarke, managing functional teams responsible for Safety & Wellbeing, Safety Systems, Self [...]

Andrew Milroy

Andrew Milroy leads the research and advisory business at Focus Network. His work involves empowering organisations to make decisions more [...]

Keynote Presentation – The Management of Risk, Land, Sea and Air

Nigel Packham, Associate Director, Safety and Mission Assurance NASA Johnson Space Centre

Is it Safe? This seems to be a reasonable question to ask when trying to assess whether or not to undertake a particular action or endeavor. Indeed, in the realm of Human Space Flight, this is a commonly asked question. However, when you contemplate strapping your best friends into a capsule atop a launch vehicle capable of producing 7 million pounds of thrust for 8 minutes, you rapidly find out that asking that question is nonsensical.

Human spaceflight is inherently risky, and certainly not “safe”. The better standard that is used by NASA and other high risk organizations is to ask the question, “Is it Safe Enough”. There will always be risk in such endeavors. The challenge is to identify and manage that risk so that the remaining, or residual risk is acceptable.

Ideally, the level of risk can be expressed in quantifiable terms of the likelihood of the event happening. We are all familiar with the risk of being struck by lightning being over one in a million (or 1:1,000,000). In human spaceflight, typical residual risks of losing the crew (LOC) are in the 1:200-1:250 range. But can you guess what the real risk of the very first Shuttle flight, STS-1, was back in 1981? I say real, because the LOC risk back in 1981 was estimated to be somewhere between 1:1,000 and 1:10,000.

This presentation will discuss the management of risk in several non-aerospace fields and compare the various methodologies to that used in Human Spaceflight.

30min

Nigel Packham

Experienced Safety Director with a demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry. Skilled in Safety Management [...]

Networking Break

15min

Keynote Presentation – From reactive to proactive: accelerating engagement with the power of safety technology

Dr. Helene Seidel-Sterzik, Chief Operating Officer & Co-Owner, ecoPortal

Lack of engagement is one of the highest hurdles for health and safety leaders to jump.

Without company-wide engagement, safety issues become the sole responsibility of H&S teams who get tied up doing reactive and compliance-based tasks instead of the activities they know will keep people truly healthy and safe!

Join this session with Dr. Helene Seidel-Sterzik to uncover the potential technology has to propel H&S leaders forward, helping them clear that formidable engagement hurdle. Walk away with a list of ingredients that ignite proactive safety cultures–the kind in which everyone is willing and able to contribute positively to health, safety, well-being and beyond.

Helene shares the technological building blocks that enable safety leaders to:

  • Lift the engagement of all stakeholders, including third parties
  • Transform H&S into an important, organisation-wide responsibility
  • Embed best practices into business as usual
  • Empower H&S teams to focus on value-add activities

30min

Dr. Helene Seidel-Sterzik

Dr. Helene Seidel-Sterzik is the Chief Operations Officer and co-owner of ecoPortal, a leading health and safety engagement software. Dr. Helene [...]

One-to-One Meetings

30min

Implementing a Critical Risk Strategy for Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

Kim Grady, Chief Health & Safety Officer, The University of Sydney

How do you design a critical risk framework for a workplace that does every thing imaginable and is also trying to invent a whole lot more? From developing robots that care for cattle and crops, to solving jet lag, to running multi-million dollar construction sites, to buying, storing and using vast quantities of restricted chemicals - how do you identify, assess and control the critical risks of an organisation that does it all...including students building and racing formula race cars?

This presentation will look at some of the challenges and opportunities of bringing critical risk thinking and controls into a hugely diverse risk environment where those engaging in the risk are tasked with finding solutions to the world's greatest challenges. It will discuss the tension between the drive for simplicity and digestible data in the context of an organisation that values deep expertise and uniqueness.

30min

Kim Grady

I am a people leader with 20 years’ experience across safety & wellbeing, legal and operational roles. My approach to the development and [...]

One-to-One Meetings

30min

Speaking Session A2 – The Future of Contractor Risk Management: Examining Linkages between WHS, ESG, and Financial Risk Indicators

Ilche Vojdanoski, Account Executive APAC, Avetta

What are the proactive measures organisations can adopt now and into the future to identify, assess, and mitigate risk?

Safety, sustainability and security, centred around the worker, is the future of health and safety management.

This session will look at how to break through status quo risk controls. We’ll examine the layers of risk, from contracting company to worker and work site compliance.

Financial sustainability as an indicator of H&S risk and ESG maturity will be explored along with understanding contractor compliance profiles across OHS, ESG, and business risk categories.


30min

Ilche Vojdanoski

A business professional that has experience delivering successful results through leading: - the development and execution of customer focused [...]

Speaking Session B2 – Psychosocial Factors and MSDs: What’s the Connection

Samuel Gerges, Snr Manager of Consulting, VelocityEHS

The bottom line: Psychosocial and organisational hazards contribute to musculoskeletal disorders. How? Most jobs involve some of these hazards and, if not managed, these factors can harm a worker’s mental and physical health. Poor organisational change management, high or low job demands, poor workplace relationships and low job control, are just a few factors that can contribute to workplace injuries. The good news is, these can be managed.

During this session, VelocityEHS certified ergonomist Sam Gerges will share tips and best practices for implementing an ergonomics process regardless of whether your state takes a guidance or a regulatory approach.

Attendees will learn how to:

  • Identify psychosocial and organizational hazards
  • Describe how psychosocial and organizational factors contribute to the development of worker musculoskeletal disorders
  • Describe how to implement a work-related psychosocial risk management process
  • Illustrate key metrics that can be used to track how these factors can be addressed

30min

Samuel Gerges

Samuel Gerges, Senior Manager of Consulting at VelocityEHS, partners with companies to develop, manage, and sustain health and safety, [...]

Keynote Panel Discussion – Implementation of the new psychosocial risk management legal obligations

Panellists:

Annika Martz, Special Counsel Work Health and Safety, Norton Rose Fulbright
Renay Doyle, Health & Wellbeing Project Manager, Endeavour Energy
Kelly Priestley, Australian Governance Lead - HSE, Laing O’Rourke
Skye Buatava, Director, Strategic Intelligence and Research, Centre for Work Health & Safety
Moderator:
Katherine Morris, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright

Katherine Morris, Partner, will lead a discussion with the Centre for Work Health & Safety, Endeavour Energy & Laing O’Rourke about their practical approaches to implementation of the psychosocial risk management obligations under the work health and safety regulations. Each organisation has invested in a significant program of implementation of change, and will share their insights and learnings.

What the audience will take away: the top 10 key features for a successful program of implementation of the psychosocial risk management obligations.

 

30min

Annika Martz

Bio coming [...]

Renay Doyle

Bio coming [...]

Kelly Priestley

Bio coming [...]

Skye Buatava

Skye brings a wealth of experience and success to the Centre through senior leadership roles across the private sector in multi-national [...]

Katherine Morris

Katherine Morris is a leading work health and safety partner at Norton Rose Fulbright. She has over 23 years’ experience working across all [...]

Networking Lunch

40min

One-to-One Meetings

30min

Speaking Session – Measuring safety performance: Beyond the theory

Christian Frost, Group Executive, HSEQ APAC, Ventia

With many organisations challenged by current approaches to measuring safety, this presentation showcases an approach that could be the next evolution to measuring safety performance – beyond the theory.

We look at how a listed organisation is elevating its approach and committing to this publicly. Attendees will hear about the principles and frameworks adopted and how these drive leadership behaviour and focus.

Case study examples are showcased for context and resources will be available to take away and apply in your organisation today!


30min

Christian Frost

Christian is the Group Executive for SHEQ at Ventia. He is an experienced leader having worked in large, complex organisations and [...]

One-to-One Meetings

30min

Speaking Session – Leading safety at Metcash – from the boardroom to the customer

Nicole Lawler, General Manager Safety, Health & Environment, Metcash

Metcash is Australia’s leading wholesale distribution and marketing company with over 9,000 employees, sales of over $18 billion in FY23 and brands including IGA, Cellarbrations, Bottle-O, Mitre 10, Hudson Hardware and Total Tools.

With a focus on this year’s Summit theme ‘Leadership in Safety’, this session will explore the safety transformation at Metcash in recent years covering the strategic journey of building a strong safety culture across a complex mix of company owned, franchise and joint venture businesses.

We’ll discuss the dynamics of safety leadership working with the Board, our valued customers and everyone in between to reduce risk and personal injury whilst building a culture where our team members are both engaged and aligned with safety priorities.


30min

Nicole Lawler

A highly motivated and results driven health, safety and environment leader with over 25 years experience in senior, national roles within the [...]

Breakout Session – Safety is Simple: How and why do we make it Complex?

Shailendra Tripathi, Senior Director WHS, Optus

Discussion points in this session include:

  • Simplifying workplace safety: What it entails?
  • What complex looks and feels like?
  • Working in tandem with the business and saying “Yes” within boundaries. Practical examples!
  • Theory Vs Practical approach
  • Learn to speak the language which business understands rather than asking business to learn foreign (safety) language

40min

Shailendra Tripathi

Senior Director of Work Health and Safety , Wellbeing and Claims management . I have expertise in Quality, Safety and Environmental systems and [...]

Breakout Session – Moving your tech strategy forward: A practical session

Nicole Ashcroft, Head of Safety ANZ, Uber Australia

Want to know what to do next? How to define or move your tech strategy through to approval and implementation or effective utilisation? Join Nicole Ashcroft who will facilitate a round table session where you will take away a clear path for your next step.


40min

Nicole Ashcroft

I am a strategic executive level health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ) leader, known for delivering successful change programs. I strive [...]

Breakout Session – Is best practice always best? How to know when to use best practice and what to do the rest of the time…

Campbell Warren, Senior Health & Safety Manager, Laing O’Rourke

Traditional safety management has been largely founded on finding the best way of doing things.

What happens when the problem you're trying to solve is ambiguous, where there is no single best way to approach things?

Perhaps its even a little perplexing, or despite best efforts you've only had limited success in addressing it?

There's a good chance its a complex problem. What can we learn from industries where complexity is rife, and certainty is a must; where the stakes are high and reliability is the minimum requirement? Can we transfer those learnings to our workplaces?

This session offers insights from such places and invites participants to explore 'best principles', as an alternative to 'best practice'.


40min

Campbell Warren

Campbell is senior leader with experience spanning a range of high risk industries. Having introduced and implemented contemporary safety [...]

Breakout Session – How can we best approach Fatigue Risk Management in the shiftwork environment? A group discussion.

Genevieve Nix, Head of Health & Safety, Pacific National

This roundtable will be an interactive discussion where safety leaders will converge to explore the multifaceted landscape of fatigue risk management in the Australian workplace.

Through collaborative dialogue and knowledge-sharing, we will look identify effective practices, address common challenges, and chart a course towards proactive and impactful fatigue risk management strategies.

  • Brainstorm the types of challenges
  • Give an overview of work Pacific National is doing
  • Ideas share from the group - are people doing this really well? who? what worked and what didn't?

40min

Genevieve Nix

Bio [...]

Networking Break

15min

Keynote Presentation – Playing the long game: the transformative power of a value proposition in safety

Jess Daly, Chief Strategy Officer, Everyday Massive

In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, it’s the robust and adaptive safety functions that will thrive. Join Jess Daly, Chief Strategy Officer at Everyday Massive, as she explores how a value proposition for safety, health and environment can transform organisations working in high-risk industries.

The session will use new research insights and case studies to show how a single safety promise can be a north star — reinforcing people, systems and processes, and guiding decision-making for many years to come.

Attendees will gain:

  • Ideas to build consistency from a single safety promise, even in complex organisations
  • Insight into how to set safety teams and functions up for long-term success
  • Tips for communicating safety in a way that connects and lifts performance.

This session is a must for all safety leaders looking to engage, connect and make an enduring impact.


30min

Jess Daly

With a razor-sharp intellect, strategic prowess, and a relentless drive for excellence, Jess empowers businesses to navigate complex challenges [...]

Keynote Panel Discussion – Psychological Health & Safety – Implementation and integration, lessons learned and how to maximise impact and ROI

Moderator:

David Burroughs, Principal Psychologist, Australian Psychological Services

TBC


30min

David Burroughs

David Burroughs has had a 20-year career as a strategist, consultant, psychologist and advisor working across a vast array of organisations and [...]

Roundtable Session – Doing HOP right

Rob Fisher, Founder,Fisher Improvement Technologies

HOP (Human and Organisational Performance) has been around for a while and still, companies struggle with how to effectively deploy the concepts to get the results you want.

This interactive round-table discussion will cover the concepts, methods, processes, and tools for effectively deploying HOP, regardless of what your company does.

FIT has deployed the concepts effectively in over 400 organisations around the world. Hear about how Education (what and who you teach), Integration (Putting into day-to-day work), and Sustainability (this is how we do business) play into Doing HOP Right.


40min

Rob Fisher

Rob is a pioneer in Human and Organisational Performance and all aspects of performance improvement including incorporating the understanding of [...]

Roundtable Session – Measuring Return on Investment: From outcome to impact – A model for solving one of the WHS profession’s biggest challenges

Julia Mardjetko, Director, EY
Roberto Garcia, Partner, EY

The WHS profession has long struggled with how to demonstrate the value of WHS initiatives and investment. So often we've considered how to count the injuries and illnesses that did not occur, or the workers compensation costs that were not incurred as a result of our efforts. EY will present a science-based model that enables WHS professionals and organisations to effectively measure and report on the impact of WHS initiatives. We will facilitate a conversation about the benefits of a systematic process, common setbacks, and how these can be overcome including a discussion about how to:

  • Better link WHS initiatives and their impact on WHS outcomes (social, commercial and legal), looking beyond traditional measures that have been frustrating the WHS profession for decades
  • Leverage the model to “sell” the value of your WHS team and WHS initiatives
  • Use meaningful measures to inform decision making, improve understanding of risk and drive continuous improvement

40min

Julia Mardjetko

Julia is a Director in EY’s Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) practice within EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services. Julia [...]

Roberto Garcia

Roberto is a registered Psychologist with 20 years consulting experience across both private and public sectors, including Resources, [...]

Roundtable Session – Making it stick: How to make real change in safety using human-centred design

Timothy Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Everyday Massive

Join Timothy Evans, CEO of Everyday Massive, as he shares insights into using human-centred design to generate change that sticks.

He’ll share practical insights for integrating human-centred design thinking into your safety programs and initiatives. The session will include a showcase of recent work shaped by these principles.

Attendees will:

  • Learn techniques for ensuring safety changes have an enduring impact.
  • Learn how to tailor safety programs and initiatives to resonate with various employee groups.
  • See how human-centred design can help transform safety culture with practical case studies.
  • This roundtable is a must for those looking to ensure their safety programs and initiatives connect and get results.

    40min

Timothy Evans

I partner and collaborate with leaders and teams across the globe to humanise safety to build performance-driven safety cultures. My focus is [...]

Roundtable Session – Cultivating a proactive safety culture: bridging the gap between technology and human engagement

Daniel Alexander, Chief Strategy & Product, ecoPortal
Jason McGeorge, Solutions Architect, ecoPortal
In uncertain economic times, organisations have a tendency to lean heavily on systems to conserve resources and boost efficiency. The Health & Safety function is not immune to this, however OHS professionals know that it is the human element that lies at the heart of a positive, proactive safety culture. This begs the question: how do safety leaders leverage technology to bolster proactive safety measures while keeping human engagement front and centre? Join this roundtable, with Helene and Daniel from ecoPortal, to discuss how you can bridge the gap between humans and systems to not only achieve your immediate safety goals, but build organisational resilience off the back of a happier, healthier workforce. Together you’ll dive into:
  • Co-creating health and safety systems and processes;
  • Using technology to enable active participation in safety initiatives;
  • Overcoming adoption challenges, specifically end-user acceptance & buy-in;
  • Improving safety outcomes through human and AI collaboration;
  • How Australasian organisations are putting these principles into practice.

40min

Jason McGeorge

Fellow HSE professionals, imagine fusing experience in education, hospitality, and learning tech. That's me! For 10 years, I've been an ecoPortal [...]

Daniel Alexander

Daniel is the Chief of Strategy and Product at ecoPortal. He has a Masters in Engineering specialising in Management, and for over a decade now, [...]

Roundtable Session – Contractor Risk Management – Find Your Risk

Ilche Vojdanoski, AE APAC, Avetta
Mark Maiolo, AE APAC, Avetta

Thousands of injuries, fatalities, environmental events, carbon emissions, and cybersecurity data breaches are caused by suppliers that are not as proactively managed.

There are no quick fixes when it comes to managing risk. You can’t contract out WHS duties and H&S leaders must actively monitor and manage their entire workforce – from employees to contractors. But what are the hidden risks, and how can you find and fix them?

In this session we’ll explore contractor risk management digitisation best practice, including: - Contractor pre-qualification and auditing of safety statistics, modern-day slavery policies, insurance, financial risk, ESG & GHG regulations and cyber risk qualifications. - The latest tools and technologies for managing visitor, worker, and contractor site access and how companies are working in innovative ways to improve workforce compliance for safer work sites.

We’ll dive into real-world case studies that demonstrate how contractors can be engaged, monitored and managed efficiently, for reduced administrative burden and safer works sites.


40min

Mark Maiolo

Mark has more than 20 years of experience across Energy and Utilities, Telecommunications, and Infrastructure sectors. He helps business to drive [...]

Ilche Vojdanoski

A business professional that has experience delivering successful results through leading: - the development and execution of customer focused [...]

Free Time

40min

OHS Leaders Networking Drinks Reception

30min

OHS Leaders Networking Gala Dinner

2h 30min

Networking Breakfast

45min

Opening Keynote Presentation – The WHS Ecology – Moving Towards Psychosocial Management of Safety

Dr Peter Prasad, Head of WHS, Qantas

WHS is traditionally managed against regulatory compliance, with safety performance measured through recordable injury metrics – a reductionist model.

Our experience of managing safety differently through a pandemic, and the emergence of psychosocial safety requirements, has challenged us to rethink our WHS model. In building a refined WHS model, Safety is determined as an emergent property of organisation, and both complements and competes with the additional emergent organisational properties of Work and Health for constrained resources.

Safe and resilient organisations need to be able to recognise threats to Work, Health and/or Safety and pivot resources in the moment.

Global Assurance of an organisation’s performance in this regard should provide assurance at all levels of the organisation, from the frontline to the directors, and helps us to build a holistic WHS Ecology.


30min

Peter Prasad

Peter believes that work is the fulfilment of life’s purpose. As a medical doctor, Peter has the unique privilege of talking intimately to [...]

Keynote Presentation – Fact or fiction: Does greater WHS maturity really deliver commercial benefits? A data driven discussion about what WHS professionals think they’ve always known

Karen Mealmaker, Partner, EHS, EY

As a profession, we’ve long believed that strong health and safety performance will lead to improved commercial outcomes. On what basis have we drawn that conclusion?

More than ever, organisations are assessed by stakeholders (shareholders, employees, governments and others) on their efforts to do more than advance shareholder interests alone. Decisions are made daily by consumers, investors and regulators based on an organisation’s impact on people and plant. This backdrop underscores the role of the Work Health & Safety (WHS) function as a strategic enabler and foundation for value creation.

EY analysed data from 9,000 of the largest public companies from around the world to assess the relationship between WHS performance and company financial, social, and regulatory performance. We will share the findings from our research and lead a data-driven discussion about whether increasing WHS maturity can actually improve overall organisational performance.


30min

Karen Mealmaker

An experienced corporate health, safety and wellbeing specialist. Worked across Victorian industries including utilities, retail and property [...]

Keynote Panel Discussion – Navigating the Safety Talent Drought: Strategies for Resilient WHS Teams in Australia

Panellists:

Camilla Windfeld, Group Head of HSE, Alinta Energy
Nadine Callaghan, Head of Health & Safety, Luna Park Sydney
Erin Gooey, Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing, Medibank
Paul Stevens, Head of HSE Asia Pacific, Serco
Moderator:
Andrew Barrett, Chief Connector, Safety on Tap

In the dynamic realm of Australian workplace health and safety, a pressing challenge looms large – the scarcity of skilled talent. This panel discussion dives deep into the multifaceted dimensions of the talent shortage, exploring not just the evident gaps in workforce resourcing but the broader spectrum of challenges faced by safety leaders.

As organisations grapple with attracting capable individuals, the conversation extends beyond mere recruitment hurdles. Panelists will dissect the intricacies of skill development, delving into innovative approaches for nurturing and enhancing the capabilities of existing teams. The discourse expands to the critical domain of retention strategies, acknowledging that acquiring top talent is only part of the equation – keeping them engaged is equally vital.

Succession planning takes centre stage as leaders strategise for the future, ensuring a seamless transition of knowledge and responsibilities. The evolving landscape of health and safety demands forward-thinking role definitions, and the panel explores how organisations can proactively shape roles that align with emerging challenges and industry trends.

This panel discussion goes beyond the surface, addressing the talent shortage not as a standalone issue but as a complex interplay of recruitment, skill development, retention, succession planning, and future-focused role evolution. Gain insights, share experiences, and leave armed with actionable strategies to fortify your WHS team for the demands of 2024 and beyond.



30min

Camilla Windfeld Khanna

Highly skilled in Workplace Safety and Psychosocial Risk Management, Systems Development and Implementation Quality assurance, Enterprise Risk [...]

Nadine Callaghan

In the vibrant realm of world first rollercoasters, adrenaline pumping drop towers, heritage amusement rides from the 1930’s, immersive [...]

Erin Gooey

Erin is the Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing at Medibank – a values-based organisation on a mission to create the best health and wellbeing [...]

Paul Stevens

Executive leader and board advisor with an extensive track record of delivering significant safety and ESG improvements across multiple [...]

Andrew Barrett

Andrew loves solving challenges with people. He also loves sharing. There are so many challenges to work on, and many being solved every day - [...]

Keynote Speaking Session – Building an R U OK? Culture in the Workplace

Barry Du Bois, Non-Executive Director & TV Presenter, R U OK?

An R U OK? Culture is where wellbeing is promoted and all employees are encouraged to talk about the struggles they may be experiencing, will not be judged, feel psychologically safe and are supported by management and peers as they work through those challenges.

Building an R U OK? Culture can help establish trust and increase a sense of belonging and connection in the workplace.

A positive and supportive culture can also assist with increased productivity and decreasing absenteeism and compensation claims.

Not only does this make good business sense, it can also help you fulfil your legal WHS obligations in providing work that is safe, free from risks, which includes both peoples physical and mental health and wellbeing.


20min

Barry Du Bois

Quote: “I know first-hand how it feels to look ok on the outside, but not on the inside.” Barry Du Bois, 63, from New South Wales, is a [...]

Networking Break

15min

Keynote Speaking Session – Is your reason for injuries getting old? Is building movement intelligence the answer?

Terry Wong, General Manager, Move 4 Life

As the average age of our workforce climbs and the ongoing presence of musculoskeletal injuries persist, we will be discussing the benefits of building an organisation's movement intelligence.

A business that moves smart has a greater capability to deal with organisational and employee risk factors associated with sedentary and manual tasks. Building movement intelligence is a way to truly optimise the use of a consultative participatory ergonomics approach, as employees drive positive change in the way they work.

Join this session to see this in action and improve your own movement intelligence!

40min

Terry Wong

Terry Wong is General Manager of Move 4 Life, an organisation which is about helping people to MOVE Better & LIVE Better. Move 4 Life [...]

One-to-One Meetings

30min

Speaking Session A3 – Cultivating Excellence: Exploring the Interplay of positive culture, Safety, Wellbeing, and Decision-Making Dynamics in the Modern Workplace

Craig Hagan, Head of Training & Safety Culture, Yancoal

Achieving excellence in workplace culture is a collective responsibility that transcends individual roles. This presentation delves into the crucial interplay between positive culture, safety, wellbeing, and decision-making dynamics, emphasising the pivotal role each of us plays in cultivating lasting organisational change.

Establishing an inclusive safety culture, embraced at all organisational levels, proves paramount for instigating sustainable cultural shifts.

Cultivating excellence in culture involves challenging norms, setting both short and long-term goals, fostering accountability, and establishing tangible connections to organisational values and objectives. This extends beyond conventional control hierarchies and governance systems, delving into the profound impact of individual habits, attitudes, and behaviours on decision-making and, consequently, safety performance, reliability, and cultural maturity in the workplace.

During this session, practical insights will be shared to enhance safety performance, reliability, and culture by:

  • Aligning safety culture with organisational values to reshape the employee experience
  • Detailing best practices, including an exploration of how individual habits, behaviours, and psychological triggers influence culture, reliability, and safety performance
  • Measuring success and capturing lessons learned by sharing positive outcomes gleaned from experiences over time
  • Sustaining safety through mature governance and frameworks, ensuring long-term organisational resilience
  • Join us for a comprehensive exploration of strategies and tangible tips aimed at fostering excellence in workplace culture, safety, and decision-making dynamics.

    40min

Craig Hagan

Throughout my career, I have held various leadership roles in health, safety, training, environment, human resources and operations. In these [...]

One-to-One Meetings

30min

Speaking Session A4 -Proactively prevent incidents on your sites with AI and Data Insights

Jay Mahoney, Regional Director APAC, Wolters Kluwer
Claire Hicks, Snr Customer Success Manager APAC, Wolters Kluwer
Learn how incident management across your organization can now shift from a reactive reporting process to a proactive risk reduction and mitigation opportunity for you and your team with the power of using AI, Insights and Data all in one platform.

30min

Jay Mahoney

As Managing Director at Enablon, a leading provider of sustainability, EHS, and operational risk management software, Jay oversees the strategy, [...]

Claire Hicks

With over fifteen years of experience in health, safety, and environment (HSE) systems, reporting and assurance, Claire is passionate about [...]

Speaking Session B4 – Psychological Safety Needs to be Developed, Not Demanded

Rob Fisher, Founder, Fisher Improvement Technologies

Many organisations are on the psychological safety train. They have accepted the need to create psychological safety, but they don't know HOW to make it happen.

FIT has deployed the concepts that enable psychological safety in over 100 organisations and we will share some of the methods in this session.

Take away some things you can start to do immediately to create a psychologically safe work environment.


30min

Rob Fisher

Rob is a pioneer in Human and Organisational Performance and all aspects of performance improvement including incorporating the understanding of [...]

One-to-One Meetings

30min

Speaking Session – Recent prosecutions for failure to mitigate psychosocial risks and learnings for satisfying officer due diligence duties

Katherine Morris, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
Nicki Milionis, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright

Katherine Morris and Nicki Milionis, Partners at Norton Rose Fulbright Australia, will discuss prosecutions, inquests and other legal proceedings brought in the last 12 months across Australia which have focused on the alleged failure of organisations to mitigate psychosocial risk management duties.

These prosecutions provide essential learnings for organisations, demonstrating the proactivity of the regulators in enforcing duties concerning psychosocial risk management, and the clarity of the basis of prosecutions.

We will discuss the specific charges and the facts (publicly available) to enable organisations to understand the basis on which prosecutions can be brought.

We will also address the data that officers need to be provided with through board reports in order to satisfy their due diligence duties regarding psychosocial risk management, including understanding the organisation’s psychosocial risks and ensuring that appropriate processes and resources are in place for mitigation of those risks, and provision of information confirming timely response to incidents and implementation of corrective actions regarding psychosocial risk management.

What the audience will take away:

1. A clear and practical understanding of the basis on which prosecutions for alleged failure to mitigate psychosocial risks occur, and

2. the practical processes and reporting indicia that boards need to make sure are in place for satisfying due diligence duties.


30min

Katherine Morris

Katherine Morris is a leading work health and safety partner at Norton Rose Fulbright. She has over 23 years’ experience working across all [...]

Nicki Milionis

Nicki Milionis is a workplace health and safety lawyer based in Melbourne with over 17 years' experience. Nicki advises on compliance with [...]

Networking Lunch

40min

Breakout Session – ESG for lazy people: How OHS Leaders can add value to the ESG agenda

Dr Peter Simpson, MD/Global Head of Safety, Security & ESG, Standard Chartered

Go to work next week and start impacting and adding value to the sustainability and ESG agenda. You might already be doing more than you realise.

ESG and Sustainability are more than buzzwords, they are issues that Boards, clients, customers, shareholders, staff and other stakeholders care and talk about. They are topics that often must be disclosed in annual reports and other disclosure and investment documents. LinkedIn posts are full of companies and CEOs talking about ESG and Sustainability. But despite all this, there is often confusion and uncertainty around ESG and sustainability; what is it, who owns it, does it add value? And it is certainly a high-profile growth area that people want to be a part of.

This roundtable will unpack what ESG and Sustainability are. We’ll discuss what companies are doing in this space, and specifically what OHS teams are doing and contributing. You’ll walk away with a practical knowledge of what you and your team can start doing when you return to work. Or you may find that you are already contributing to ESG without being fully aware, and thus can promote and champion this in your organisation. OHS teams can add value and impact to the ESG space, and can embed themselves into this high-profile growth area.


40min

Dr Peter Simpson

A global executive with over 25 years of leadership in the areas of risk management, safety, health, wellbeing, security, sustainability/ESG, [...]

Breakout Session – Operationalising Safety: Reassessing your influential span and functional effectiveness

Tanya Pelja, Executive Director, HSEQ APAC, BGIS

My goals at BGIS is to create a culture of care beyond compliance.

In order to build and then maintain a positive, informed and operationalised safety culture we must create strong, deep and far reaching collaboration between safety and other business functions.

Safety as a function can only be truly successful if the inherent requirements of having a safe workplace are understood, shared and implemented across all functions of an organisation, the safety team cannot do it alone or in isolation. BGIS is a global leader in integrated facility management services and project delivery and we partner with clients globally to deliver innovative solutions in both operations and health and safety.

BGIS values and focuses on innovation and this applies to health and safety, where we develop and implement programs such as our Safety Ambassador Program to bolster and deepen the connection between safety and operations. Every facet of our business has, in the past 4 years, experienced an uplift in safety focus and that uplift is either due to deliberate crafting of a bespoke safety focus for a business unit or via an operational appetite to share safety success or both.

In order to have longevity in operationalising safety, measures are in place to include meaningful safety metrics and activity from a global board level through to operational pre-starts. Safety applies to every worker and as such every aspect of the business must be included in a safety team’s vision and plans.

This interactive discussion will challenge safety leaders to reassess their influential span and functional effectiveness across their business.


40min

Tanya Pelja

Winner - 2023 WHS Leader of the Year (> 1,000 employees) - Australian Institute of Health & Safety Finalist - 2023 Best Health and [...]

Breakout Session – Acts of violence & aggression – how the business operational landscape is shifting

Ben Shiedow, General Manager Safety Health & Wellbeing - Supermarkets, Woolworths Group
Denva Wren, Head of Safety Health & Wellbeing NZ, Woolworths Group

Acts of violence & aggression towards team, customers & contractors is a very real physical and psychosocial risk that many industries are challenged by.

Experience a shared discussion including some of the learnings and experiences of Woolworths (and others) on how organisations are needing to test, learn, deploy and evolve at pace to keep people safe no matter their role.

Through the roundtable we will ponder the opportunity we have to further collectively learn and share across industries as well as influence in this space together when we leave the session.


40min

Denva Wren

Denva has a background of over 15 years experience in retail & supply chain within the Woolworths Group in various roles across Aotearoa, New [...]

Ben Sheidow

Ben is a senior health, safety and wellbeing leader with experience across various industries and large multi-national organisations. Ben has [...]

Keynote Presentation – Embedding Safety within Enterprise Risk Management – Tips, Pitfalls & Leverage

Wade Needham, Director ESG & EHS, Natural Resources APAC
  • Understanding materiality and stakeholder drivers – What makes the cut
  • Risk Appetite – How to have the zero harm conversation
  • Thresholds and Limits – How these tie into Board Reporting and SMS
  • Escalation – When is the right time and how
  • Audits – How to align the terms of reference to an enterprise risk approach
  • What box does it fit into – How to partner with other functions / providers on the risk journey

30min

Wade Needham

Wade is working with forwarding thinking leaders in the agriculture and post farm gate industries to reduce the frequency and impact of ill health on [...]

Closing Panel Discussion -Transforming OHS Outcomes with AI and Advanced Safety Technologies

Panellists:

Nat Molloy, Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing, G8 Education
Matthew Browne, Director & Technology Advisor, HSI Donesafe
Chris Doyle, Group Head of EH&S and Assurance, Lendlease
Richard Turner, Global Head of HSSE, TOLL Group
Moderator:
Andrew Milroy, Vice President & Head of Research, Focus Network

The landscape of workplace health and safety in Australia is on the brink of a technological revolution. This panel discussion delves into the exciting realm of tech-forward safety, exploring how safety leaders are harnessing advancements in technology to revolutionise safety strategies in 2024 and beyond.

At the heart of the discussion lies the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in workplace health and safety. Panelists will explore the profound impact of AI-driven solutions, from predictive analytics to autonomous safety systems, in reforming safety management practices. They will delve into how AI is empowering safety leaders with real-time insights, enabling them to make data-driven decisions and proactively address emerging risks.

Moreover, the discussion extends beyond the realm of technology itself to address the broader implications of this tech-forward approach. Panelists will examine the evolving role of safety professionals in leveraging technology effectively, ensuring that human-centric values remain at the core of safety strategies in an increasingly digital landscape.

This panel discussion goes beyond the buzzwords, offering tangible insights into how technology is reshaping workplace health and safety in Australia. Discover the transformative power of tech-forward safety and learn how you can leverage these advancements to drive a safer, more resilient workforce in 2024 and beyond.


30min

Chris Doyle

Chris Doyle has the dual role of the Group Head of Environment, Health and Safety, as well as Group Head of Assurance for international property [...]

Richard Turner

Richard is currently the Global Head of Health, Safety, Security and Environment at Toll Group where he has delivered significant safety [...]

Nat Molloy

Nat commenced her career as a Physiotherapist and following several (somewhat frustrating) years in clinical practice, decided to change careers [...]

Matthew Browne

As one of Donesafe’s two founders, Matthew Browne is driving one of the fastest growing safety startups in Australia. Matthew works closely [...]

Andrew Milroy

Andrew Milroy leads the research and advisory business at Focus Network. His work involves empowering organisations to make decisions more [...]

Master of Ceremonies Closing Remarks

Andrew Barrett, Chief Connector, Safety on Tap

5min

Andrew Barrett

Andrew loves solving challenges with people. He also loves sharing. There are so many challenges to work on, and many being solved every day - [...]

Networking Drinks

60min

WHY ATTEND

STAR KEYNOTES
AND PRESENTERS

We invite only the leading international and local experts to provide sessions on site, this allows for attendees to be taught by front-line executives that compress years of meaningful experience into a systematic, well organised learning program.

NETWORKING
OPPORTUNITIES

Keeping in line with the main goal of the event in achieving new relationships, we provide a huge amount of networking opportunities for attendees through breakfast, luncheons, cocktails and informal introductions.

1-1 PRIVATE
MEETINGS

Allowing both buyers and sellers the opportunity to engage with one another onsite in a series of prearranged business meetings. These provide both parties a great opportunity to build new relationships by interacting face to face.

TARGETED
SESSIONS

Being able to experience different sessions is what makes this event unique; whether you are looking to attend an interactive workshop, roundtable, 1-1 meeting or panel discussion.

NETWORKING
DINNER

Interact and relax amongst your peers at the official Networking dinner where you will have the opportunity to be part of the entertainment.

PERSONALISED
PROGRAM

The summit is personalised for YOU, this means that what is important to your business is important to us. We create personalised itineraries around sessions you want to attend, allowing for your time to be spent wisely while out of the office.

DOWNLOAD THE POST EVENT REPORT FROM OUR PREVIOUS EVENT

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

PURCHASE TICKETS

Should you wish to attend the 12th Australian OHS Leaders Summit on the 6th – 7th of March 2024, please purchase your tickets below

1 Ticket

$2849

  • Access to onsite mobile App
  • Meals & refreshments over the two days
  • Access to all interactive workshops, keynotes and roundtable sessions
  • Entry to pre-dinner Networking Drinks Reception
  • Seat allocated at the OHS Leaders Dinner
  • Access to Closing Networking Drinks Function
  • Access to all presentation
    slides and photos
BUY NOW
Group Ticket (2 - 4)

$2358

  • Access to onsite mobile App
  • Meals & refreshments over the two days
  • Access to all interactive workshops, keynotes and roundtable sessions
  • Entry to pre-dinner Networking Drinks Reception
  • Seat allocated at the OHS Leaders Dinner
  • Access to Closing Networking Drinks Function
  • Access to all presentation
    slides and photos
BUY NOW
GROUP TICKETS (5+)

$2158

  • Access to onsite mobile App
  • Meals & refreshments over the two days
  • Access to all interactive workshops, keynotes and roundtable sessions
  • Entry to pre-dinner Networking Drinks Reception
  • Seat allocated at the OHS Leaders Dinner
  • Access to Closing Networking Drinks Function
  • Access to all presentation
    slides and photos
BUY NOW

LATEST NEWS

Work Design in Practise – Finding the Opportunities in Business Cycles to Influence Change – Fireside Chat

Moderator Andrew Barrett, Chief Connector, Safety on Tap Panellists Skye Buatava, Director, Research and Evaluation – Better Regulation […]

Designing Mentally Healthy Work for High Performance and Sustainability – Dr Laura Kirby

Dr Laura Kirby, Chief Mental Health Officer, Commonwealth Bank Dr Laura shared insights on a systems-based approach to workplace mental health […]

9 pitfalls that can cause your OHS software implementation to fail (and how to succeed instead) – Dr Manuel Seidel

Dr Manuel Seidel, Founder & CEO, EcoPortal Looking to implement OHS software and achieve digital transformation? Dr. Manuel Seidel has shared […]

Criminal and civil law obligations to minimise risk of psychiatric injury – Katherine Morris

Katherine Morris, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright Are you up-to-date on your legal obligations to prevent psychiatric injury in the workplace? […]

Meet leading Health & Safety executives from a range of industries.

Interact and engage with some of the strongest and most powerful brands from across Australia.

“This year was even better than last! The calibre of attendees is like no other event in the Australian marketplace. This was a very impressive group of the countries most senior safety professionals and presenters, while the one to one meetings with suppliers has allowed me to really understand where I need to be investing. Count me in for next year.”

 

– LINFOX

“Our First year we took a 7 meeting package, the second year we took a 14 meeting package and now in our 3rd year we were gold sponsors. Our business has now done 10x since working with the OHS Leaders team and we have already signed up to be diamond sponsor for 2021.”

 

– DONESAFE

“The OHS Leaders Summit continues to provide a fantastic opportunity to listen to peers, their journeys, opinions & lessons learnt. Once again I am going away feeling inspired and energised. Thank you.”

 

– SUPER RETAIL GROUP

“We have joined this summit for the last 5 years and have been the major sponsor for the last 3. This event has been invaluable for our business, the opportunity to meet with the countries most senior safety leaders one on one has been fantastic. It all starts here at the summit and then it’s up to your teams to foster these relationships.”

 

– PREMIUM HEALTH

“It’s the only event my colleague and I attend. High quality presentations, high quality providers, engaging workshops, and plenty of networking opportunities.”

 

– VEOLIA

“Great networking opportunity, with providers and delegates. Learnt new ideas, what is working well in the industry, international perspective was enlightening. Very positive experience and is refreshing to hear from new approaches in industry that are delivering results.”

 

– JLL

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EVENT PARTNERS

WHITE PAPERS

HSI 1

HSI Donesafe Platform Brochure
HSI Donesafe provides an online all-in-one EHS (Environmental, Health & Safety) management software solution that connects all workers across an organization. With options to take out-of-the-box/pre-configured templates or build custom templates to align with specific organizational requirements, learn more about our universal platform here.

HSI 2

Interrogate Your Tech
The journey to EHS maturity is never linear and EHS leaders can become complacent in believing that simply being compliant means that they are future-ready. Access out “Interrogate Your Tech” checklist to evaluate your EHS tech capabilities today.

HSI 3

Global EHS Readiness Index (GERI) Report
This report benchmarks the overall program maturity of organizations by assessing ten (10) capability factors for EHS readiness. This extensive study highlights the critical gaps and vulnerabilities holding EHS programs from progressing with confidence.

HSI 4

GERI Highlights Infographic
This infographic provides some of the key highlights of the full Global EHS Readiness Index (GERI) report and must-read insights into the current state of EHS maturity and future-readiness from over 1,000 global EHS leaders.









ecoPortal Case Study 1

A Recipe for Safety Success At Foodstuffs North Island
Find out how Foodstuffs thrives with ecoPortal, a simple, configurable and user-friendly software that manages the company’s health, safety, environmental, training, and legal compliance.

ecoPortal Case Study 2

Nexus Logistics: Safely Moving The Country Forward

Nexus Logistics, operating in the complex and high-risk logistics industry, prioritizes safety as a fundamental aspect of its operations.
Find out how the simplicity and effectiveness of the ecoPortal system contribute to making safety and well-being management more straightforward for the company.

EY Australia

Courage under fire
How do we transform health, safety and wellbeing during tough times?





Psychosocial Risk Management – Insights for leaders

Discover principles of best practice for identification and management of psychosocial hazards, as well as what a landmark High Court of Australia case ruling means for your psychosocial risk approach. Get an understanding of the legislation, your key duties and how to ensure you are set up for success.

Lysander Case Study

Lysander | The Integrated Approach to Wellness
The Integrated Approach to Wellness project was established to address work related factors that influence mental health issues in the construction industry. It’s very important for every organisation to invest in the wellbeing of the people who deliver the projects for them.

EY Australia

How can investment in EHS drive corporate success?
The new EY study examines links between companies’ EHS maturity and their financial, social and regulatory performance.

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