The APHIRM toolkit –a tool to manage MSDs and stress-related mental health

One of the great aspects of the OHS community is how we are there to help each other and share our knowledge. This is one of the fundamental purposes of Central Safety Group and was exemplified in this presentation. The APHIRM toolkit is a free resource that has been designed to support organisations through a full cycle of MSD risk management.

APHIRM stands for A Participative Hazard Identification and Risk Management and was launched in 2019 after many years of research and refinement. Dr Jodi Oakman talked about how research has developed while current strategies haven't kept up with it, particularly in relation to psychosocail hazards. The APHIRM toolkit is a way to address that gap.

The focus is on early intervention and commences with a detailed survey. Jodi asked attendees to do the survey at one point in the session so that we could see it for ourselves. She also showed us what the toolkit looks like and what to expect when using it. There is a logical set of steps that includes the generation of reports and data to measure ongoing improvements.

There were quite a few questions and discussion after the formal presentation. Christina Rennick from St Vincents Hospital shared their experience with using the toolkit within their food services section. She noted that there had been some very positive feedback from the workers who participated. Worker participation is one of the key components of the toolkit, and Jodi talked about how it differs from consultation.

Throughout the presentation Jodi empahasised the practical nature of the toolkit and you could feel how inspired attendees were by this very important addition to our knowledge. Jodi referred us to the website where, amongst other things, one can find case studies and information about full-day workshops run by the Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors, La Trobe University in the CBD. The next one is on 19th May. www.aphirm.org.au

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MSD risks – a new approach

Date & Time: Tuesday 10 March 2026, noon

CSG Hybrid Lunchtime Presentation - via zoom only

Speaker:  Jodi Oakman, Head of the Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors, La Trobe University

Venue:  Regus Yarra Room, 50th floor, 120 Collins Street, Melbourne

Topic: The APHIRM toolkit – a tool to manage MSDs and stress-related mental health

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for more than 50% of workplace injuries and diseases, and are among the most expensive and prolonged work-related compensation claims. A pioneering approach to reducing MSDs and stress-related mental health has been developed by Professor Jodi Oakman and colleagues at La Trobe University.

Join us for an interactive Zoom session with Professor Oakman on 10 March exploring the APHIRM Toolkit. APHIRM stands for A Participative Hazard Identification and Risk Management and the free online toolkit guides workplaces through the process of identifying, assessing and controlling physical and psychosocial hazards (www.aphirm.org.au)...read more

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 10 November.  When booking, please ensure you select the March Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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What makes a great OHS executive

For those looking to progress to an Executive level in their OHS career, this presentation is essential viewing. Helen went into a lot of detail about the qualities and skills sought in these roles, and they go well beyond mere technical capability.

She delved into the sorts of questions one would expect in an interview or that one should ask when seeking a suitable candidate. Questions such as "Can they drive change?" and "How can they exert influence?"

Helen's extensive experience is so valuable and this was evident when she gave a wealth of advice on how to position oneself, including how to translate OHS into financial language that will resonate with potential employers.

Helen also presented an analysis of the current job market for Executive positions, based on data from Seek and LinkedIn. She said that such positions are as easy to find as a polar bear in a snowstorm! However, they are still out there, particularly in the field of construction. Queensland is top of the leaderboard.

Helen's talk sparked a lot of discussion afterwards, most of which is captured in the recording.

As always, Helen's presentation provided fascinating insights and was a great way to kick off the year. Those of us in the room also enjoyed meeting up in person, thanks to Helen's generous sponsorship of our event venue, the Regus Yarra Room with its wonderful view from the top floor of 120 Collins Street.

As of this year Financial members have 2 options for catching up with presentations, either through the video or the audio version, a new feature we have introduced for those who like to listen to podcasts. Your feedback about this would be gratefully received.

Related to this month's topic, Financial members may also be interested in revisitng the presentation from Rob Dival in May 2025 How do OHS Professionals leverage power and influence tactics?

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Central Safety Group Inc. AGM news

The 2025 Annual General Meeting took place on Tuesday 10 February, 2026. The biggest news is that there have been some significant resignations from the Committee: Nan Austin & Cameron Cranstoun have stepped down from their Executive positions of President & Treasurer respectively, and Dominic Melling has also resigned as an ordinary committee member.

While we are very sad to see them go, there is such a talent pool within the committee and amongst our membership, that we continue to have a strong committee willing and able to work hard to advance the group. The 2026 committee consists of:

President – Christina Rennick
Vice President – Craig Ramadge (also Social Media Co-ordinator)
Treasurer - Nan Austin
Secretary – Rob D’Elsini

Ordinary Members:
Gavin Kenny
Jane Loudon (Events Co-ordinator)
Marina Milankovic (Membership Co-ordinator)
Rwth Stuckey

While Cameron & Dominic are no longer on the committee, they both remain Financial members and continue to offer their support to the group, for which we are truly grateful.

Cameron has been our Treasurer since 2017 and proved to be extremely diligent, methodical and capable. He leaves us with our finances in a very strong position.

Dominic joined the committee in 2022 and has been highly valued for his contributions to finding speakers, developing topics and even delivering a presentation himself in 2024.

Nan Austin became President in 2021 and has made a big impact on the group. She was the driver behind us becoming an Incorporated Association and more involvement from the committee. She was always looking at how we could build our profile, offer more to members and improve engagement. During her time we have seen a more than 50% increase in membership and the addition of 5 Corporate Members. We are very happy that she remains on the committee and has even stepped into the role of Treasurer.

The committee gave Nan a gift at the December lunch, but we also marked her final day as President at the AGM with a bunch of tulips -a fitting gesture for this enthusiastic gardener.

Our sincere thanks to Nan, Cameron & Dominic for their service; congratulations to Christine & Craig for your elevation to the roles of President & Vice President; and welcome to Rwth Stuckey! It is sure to be another great year ahead for CSG. 

We urge you to contribute as well - make contact any time with your thoughts and ideas, particularly about any topics/speakers that interest you. You can This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. any time - your feedback is always appreciated.

Log in to view the Minutes, Annual Report and Financial Statement.

H O'Keef - What makes a great OHS executive

Date & Time: Tuesday 10 February 2026, noon

CSG Hybrid Lunchtime Presentation - via zoom or in person

Speaker:  Helen O’Keefe, Director, HOK Talent Solutions

Venue:  Regus Yarra Room, 50th floor, 120 Collins Street, Melbourne

Topic: What makes a great OHS executive

What truly differentiates top candidates in today’s current employment climate? Expert in health & safety recruitment, Helen O’Keefe, will give a presentation on 10 February to Central Safety Group that delves deeply into the critical factors driving recruitment decisions for senior HSW roles.

Helen will begin by discussing in-demand skill-sets. She will provide a detailed breakdown of the technical expertise and strategic capabilities that employers are actively seeking. This goes beyond foundational HSW knowledge..read more

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 10 November.  When booking, please ensure you select the February Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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Central Safety Group annual networking lunch

We tried something new this year by holding our annual networking lunch at the Angliss Conference Centre in La Trobe Street and what a successful event it was! A great venue where we had the large room all to ourselves, making it very relaxed and easy to mingle. The food was abundant and delicious - buffet style, so no-one went hungry - and the service was excellent. 

On Wednesday the 10th December 2025 Central Safety Group welcomed almost 30 guests, comprising mostly financial members and the CSG committee. It was wonderful to meet up face-to-face, especially with those we had only seen on Zoom previously. 

Our President, Nan Austin, gave a short speech in which she confirmed that she will not be re-nominating for the role of President in 2026. On behalf of the Committee, Vice-President Christina Rennick, spoke about Nan's many contributions to CSG and presented her with a Poynton's gift voucher, as Nan is a keen gardener.

It is thanks to our Financial members and Corporate members that we are able to host this important networking event each year. 

We received a lot of positive feedback about the 2025 event, so we are planning to return to the Angliss Conference Centre this year. Make sure you don't miss out!

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Central Safety Group's annual networking lunch

Date & Time: Wednesday 10 December 2025, 12:00-2:00pm

In person only

Venue:  Angliss Conference Centre, Level 5, 555 La Trobe Street, Melbourne

Members, colleagues and friends are all welcome to Central Safety Group's annual networking lunch. You can look forward to a gourmet three-course buffet in a private function room, where we will catch up together and celebrate the end of another busy year.

As a benefit of membership, financial members* of CSG receive a special discounted rate of just $20. Non-members and guests are charged the very reasonable rate of $65.

BOOK & PAY NOW to secure your place, as numbers are limited.

View the menu to whet your appetite.

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We hope to see you there! BOOK & PAY NOW so that you don't miss out.

CSG would like to take this opportunity to thank our financial members for their support in 2025 that has made this event possible.​

What: CSG annual networking lunch
When: Wednesday 10 December, 12:00-2:00pm

Where: Level 5, Angliss Conference Centre, 555 La Trobe Street, Melbourne

How: The easiest way to travel to the venue is via public transport.
Train - the venue is a short walk from both Flagstaff and Southern Cross train stations.
Tram - route 30 and the City Circle tram stop right outside the main entrance in La Trobe Street.

By Bike - there is free bike parking onsite opposite the Tram Cafe near the central courtyard. Entry off Latrobe St.
By Car - off-street parking is available at Care Park - Southern Cross, Cnr Spencer & Lonsdale Streets. They offer a special rate for Angliss Conference Centre visitors who register & book in advance online here [hyperlink on word "here" https://carepark.ubipark.com/UserRateGroup/Register?code=The%20Angliss%20Conferen]

Cost: Financial members* $20. Others $65
[Individual membership fee for 2025: $85]
*If unsure of your membership status, contact
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RSVP by COB Wednesday 3 December 2025

Note: RSVP by close of business Wednesday 3 December.  .

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Fatigue management in a high-risk environment

We had a wonderful final presentation for 2025, given by Jane Skillen, OHS Adviser for Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) and a CSG member. 

Jane commenced her presentation with a brief introduction of VIFM’s 24/7 services to both deceased and living persons.  VIFM also oversees the Donor Tissue Bank and contributes to international and domestic research programs.

Her informative fatigue management case study was based on the state-wide clinical forensic medicine team, who respond to physical assault examinations, fitness for interview assessments and traffic blood testing. Within this team the Forensic Nurse Examiners (FNE) are a 100% casual workforce, most with secondary nursing employment. Eighty percent are female, with the majority aged between 40-60 years.

While WorkSafe has a very specific definition of work-related fatigue, VIFM now applies a wider multi-dimensional definition to include mental, physical and emotional fatigue. This was done after exploring the factors contributing to fatigue at work using a robust strategic risk-based approach, in consultation with the FNEs.  Jane’s presentation delves deeply into this risk assessment and the control measures introduced to manage the risks associated with fatigue impairment in FNEs.

Feedback from the presentation:

“Sensational piece of work Jane!”

“Valuable presentation and thank you very much for sharing. Your colleagues do some amazing work under such extraordinary circumstances. Great learnings for us.”

I wholeheartedly agree with that feedback; I really liked the education material and focus on self-care.

Financial members can gain further advcie on fatigue management from David Caple's presentation in 2016, Managing fatigue: getting it right, in the Speakers archive (log in first).

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AI know-how & OHS

There isn't a day that goes by where AI isn't a topic for conversation, so it was refreshing to hear about how it can be used for good, not evil!  John Ansley's engaging presentation demonstrated how you can take safety instructions beyond a mere compliance exercise using his product Knowby Pro, which harnesses AI to create videos that present information in a clear and concise way.

When speaking about the issues his product aims to address, John made reference to Cognitive Load Theory that deals with how the human brain takes in and stores information. Bite-sized information is apparently more effective as a general rule and not just for those of us with a diminishing attention span!

John emphasisied the importance of collaboration as a guiding principle. This is a feature in both the creation of "knowbys" tailored to each organisation and the ability to provide feedback about the product. In fact, John is always happy to receive feedback and ideas on how to make Knowby Pro work better for users. This has led to the development of new capabilities, including ways to capture data to ensure and demonstrate compliance

The most fascinating aspect of the presentation was the live demonstration of how to create knowbys from an existing video as well as from a 16-page pdf document. John spruiked their offer of a 30-day free trial so that you can try it out for yourself: https://www.knowby.co/.

Our very own Gavin Kenny contributed to the presentation by talking about how he uses the product at his own workplace. He showed some great examples, including how he created a knowby for contractors changing over their huge bins. Those of us who attended the Opal site visit in July could really appreciate the challenges in that workplace, and so it was very interesting to learn how some of these are being addressed with the Knowby Pro digital tool.

Gavin has presented to us in the past and is renowned for his approach to using technology in the workplace: keep it simple and make it work for you. You can view his presentation from May 2021, Using technology to make work safer, in the Speakers archive (log in first).

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New manual handling initiatives

David Caple AM joined us for his annual presentation on human factors and ergonomics. As always, there was a great turnout, because he is a great speaker full of insights. As a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia, David shared the web address www.hfehub.au where there are really interesting podcasts available for all.

David split his presentation into 3 industry groups, bringing his own personal insights into the safety challenges in these changing environments.

• Large retail
• Libraries
• Childcare

 He uses observation and conversation with workers, rather than checklists, to review a workplace. As work demands change in these industries, standard equipment and processes of work used for many years are now safety hazards. A great question David shared with us is to ask ‘Why now?’

David’s presentation includes a host of pictorial examples of hazards, as well as many practical examples of simple changes that can be made to improve safety. These changes can be used across many industries, jobs and at home – we could all use a pick–up stick at home!

Financial members can also view his presentation videos from previous years by logging in, then clicking on the Speakers tab and searching for David Caple.

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