SafetyAtWorkBlog

In this episode, Kevin Jones explores a new tool that’s quietly transforming how we understand safety in Australian agriculture—the Rural Media Farm Injury Dashboard. Drawing from a SafetyAtWorkBlog article, Kevin examines how media-sourced data is helping surface injury and fatality patterns across farms nationwide, while also revealing the cultural blind spots that keep safety on the margins. Fr...

In this episode, Kevin Jones unpacks the troubling case of Cleanaway Waste Management’s CEO bonus reduction following three worker deaths. Drawing from a forthcoming SafetyAtWorkBlog article, he challenges the notion that trimming executive pay is a meaningful consequence—and asks whether safety is being treated as a KPI or a moral imperative. With references to Woolworths, Orica, and SGH Group, K...

In this episode, Kevin Jones critiques Safe Work Australia’s latest discussion paper on “best practice” in work health and safety legislation. With the final review report not due until mid-2026, Kevin questions whether anchoring reform to existing laws risks reinforcing the very limitations that need challenging. Drawing from his SafetyAtWorkBlog article, Kevin explores who gets heard in these co...

Kevin Jones discusses the OHS context of a recent Australian childcare industry scandal. This episode highlights the exposure of non-compliance with safety requirements and allegations of sexual abuse. The Victorian government has announced an inquiry, and other jurisdictions are following suit. Kevin discusses the need for national changes, the importance of creating a child-safe culture, and the...

In this episode, host Kevin Jones delves into the myth of "reasonably practicable" within occupational health and safety (OHS) and the moral implications it carries. Kevin argues that safety is not just about adhering to laws but about upholding values and a moral code in the workplace. He emphasizes that legislation should be seen as a tool, not a destination, and challenges listeners to go beyon...

Join host Kevin Jones as he delves into the intersections of occupational health and safety (OHS) and workers' compensation, inspired by a seminar on "Using Biopsychosocial Risk Profiling to Inform Claim Triage" by ISCRR. This episode explores the importance of integrating OHS findings into claim triage processes, the need for a broader understanding of workplace mental health, and the economic an...

Join Kevin Jones as he delves into the critical issue of employer accountability in workplace health and safety. In this episode, Kevin challenges the common narratives that shift the focus to affordability and government intervention, emphasizing the fundamental obligation of employers to protect their workers. He explores the role of media in shaping public perception and highlights the importan...

Join Kevin Jones as he delves into the often-overlooked human impact of workplace incidents and the institutional blind spots that perpetuate harm. This episode, based on a SafetyAtWorkBlog article, explores the forgotten focus on human consequences, the troubling truth about suicidality in the workplace, and the need for safer systems of work. Kevin challenges outdated narratives and advocates fo...

This morning I attended the launch of a white paper about Shared Values and mental health and was able to grab five minutes with the CEO of the Shared Values Project, Helen Steel.

Episode 12 involves a conversation with Glen Poole, the CEO of the Australian Men's Health Forum while at the Australian Labor Party's National Conference in Adelaide on December 16 2018. We discuss the importance of men's health and the relevance of the workplace in generating and managing workplace mental health

This episode is part 2 of my keynote presentation at the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities Inspectors forum in Tasmania recently. This podcast is an edited version of the second half of that presentation. This time I discuss the “primary duty of care”, the role of unions, the new work structures, Industrial manslaughter laws, the need to operate in a coordinated cooperative method across disci...

Recently I was invited to provide a non-regulatory perspective and to be challenging and provocative at a conference in Tasmania. It was organised by WorkSafe Tasmania as part of the efforts by the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities to strengthen the connections between workplace health and safety inspectors throughout Australia and New Zealand. This podcast is an edited version of the first ha...

Recently a group of workplace health and safety professionals organised a one day conference in Christchurch New Zealand. This event evolved from a LinkedIn group established only a few years ago. I attended the conference and found 10 minutes to talk with the main organiser of the conference, Matt Jones.

Kevin Jones, editor of the SafetyAtWorkBlog, interviews safety professional and international conference speaker Eldeen Pozniak.

This weekend is the International Workers Memorial Day. It is highly likely that the issue of Industrial Manslaughter laws will be raised as part of a trade union campaign. Dr Gerry Ayres, the OHS&E Manager of one of the branches of the CFMEU, features in an online petition about these laws and it seemed the right time to interview Dr Ayres about these laws but also about workplace health and safe...

In mid-March 2018 I was invited to speak at the inaugural NSW Regional Safety Conference & Expo in Newcastle, New South Wales. Once the conference had ended and prior to the Hunter Safety Awards event that night, I was able to talk with Sarah-Jane Dunford, the organizer of the events and the Director of the Riskology consultancy firm.

Episode 5 contains a chat with safety lawyer and partner with Clyde & Co, Alena Titterton. The conversation touches on safety issues like industrial manslaughter, dealing with police at an incident, certification to safety standards, safety in procurement, and small business. Alena is a refreshing safety voice from Australia.

This episode of Safety At Work Talks contains another interview with Professor Sidney Dekker, this time about his new book "The Safety Anarchist". This episode includes discussions about governance, risk assessment, the safety profession, bureaucracy, centralisation and the cost of compliance.

With this episode of Safety At Work Talks I return to the sequence of interviews with Professor Sidney Dekker. In April 2017, Dekker published a book called The End of Heaven which discusses suffering. This book has a very different tone from his previous books and intrigued me. The breadth of the discussion was also surprising with concepts and references rarely talked about in relation to occuap...

SafetyAtWorkBlog's first attempt at podcasting was over a decade ago. Many of those archived audio files still hold some interest in showing how workplace safety approaches have changed, or not, over that time. This archive program is from 2006 and contains an exclusive interview with Dr Jukka Takala who had recently been appointed head of the Occupational Safety and Health Agency of the European...

This first Safety At Work Talks episode is the first of a series of exclusive interviews with Professor Sidney Dekker about his work, his research and his writings. Dekker talks about his new Safety Differently documentary and how it came about. Safety At Work Talks complements the award-winning Safety At Work Blog with exclusive interviews with prominent and interesting safety people. A new episo...