Celebrating Nan Austin
At our AGM in February 2026, Nan Austin formally stepped down from the role of President that she had held since 2021. Luckily for us, she didn’t go too far: she is now Central Safety Group’s Treasurer!
During her 5 years as President, Nan made a significant contribution to the group. Her first achievement was to lead us into becoming an Incorporated Association, which has defined the goals and function of our association better, and protects members from legal action.
She also instigated more involvement from the committee – we now meet monthly via zoom, where we discuss upcoming events, how we can build CSG’s profile, offer more to members and improve engagement.
Prior to joining the CSG Committee, Nan was a long-time and active financial member, whose experience in OHS was sought after by others in our network. When she was Manager, Work Health and Safety at Red Cross Lifeblood, she organised a fascinating Site Visit for us at their newly-opened Blood Processing Centre in West Melbourne.
She was absent from our shores between 2016-2019 when she took up the post as Manager, Health and Safety at the University of Waikato on New Zealand’s North Island. When she returned, she didn’t hesitate to share with us her eye-opening experiences there in a presentation in November 2019. She later contributed a shortened video version of the presentation as part of our “CSG Talks” series in 2020 when normal physical meetings were suspended. You can re-visit that talk here.
Nan’s foray into the world of OHS began at the University of Melbourne in the 1980s, where she was a health and safety representative in the early days of the OHS Act. Her more formal move into safety was also at the University of Melbourne when SafetyMAP accreditation became a requirement of their workers compensation self-insurance.
Since then, Nan enjoyed an extensive career as a safety (and workers compensation) manager and auditor in state, national and international roles. Nan told me that she preferred CSG membership as AHIS did not recognise her Certificate IV in OHS for full membership. Her other significant qualifications include a Masters in Business Administration and a Masters in Business (Personal Injury Management).
At her farewell speech at our 2025 December networking lunch, Nan acknowledged the huge improvements in workplace health and safety since the 1980s, particularly the broadening focus that includes more psychosocial hazards beyond bullying and harassment. This change has brought in more females to what had, in the past, been a more traditional male role focusing on the physical hazards of the workplace.
Nan’s decision to step down from the Presidency was precipitated by her pending retirement from the world of safety. This will allow her more time to enjoy her other pursuits and interests, particularly as a volunteer at the Kensington Stockyard Food Garden and the Kensington Neighbourhood House. There is a clear pattern of community service in all that Nan does.
She will also have more time to travel and enjoy what nature has to offer in both Australia and the rest of the world. Well done, Nan, you deserve it, and thank you for all you have done for Central Safety Group!
To contact Nan, go to www.linkedin.com/in/nan-austin-41b2a025
