Central Safety Group Melbourne

April 2026

Working with the new psychosocial regulations

Presentation by: Dr Natassia Goode, Director, Psychological Health Division, WorkSafe Victoria

CSG event video now available (members only)
Presentation package now available (members only)

*Due to technical reasons, the podcast version of this presentation is unavailable.

Employers are now required to manage psychosocial risks like any other workplace safety hazard as a result of new workplace laws in Victoria. The long-anticipated Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 came into effect on 1 December 2025.

Dr Natassia (Tas) Goode, Director of the Psychological Health Division at WorkSafe Victoria, discussed the new regulations, and what they mean for both workers and employers, in a presentation to Central Safety Group on Tuesday 14 April.

Research has shown the importance of managing psychosocial risks, where psychological injuries in Victoria have led to longer periods away from work than physical injuries. Only 42% of workers with a mental injury return to work within 6 months, compared to 75% of those with physical injuries.

Tas outlined what are classified as psychosocial hazards, and discussed how employers are expected to identify, assess and manage them. The regulations apply to all Victorian employers, regardless of size, and cover employees, independent contractors and labour hire. Breaches attract penalties for both companies and individuals.

The presentation included a Q&A session.

The presenter:

Dr Natassia (Tas) Goode) leads the new Psychological Health Division at WorkSafe Victoria. Tas has been with WorkSafe for the last six years in a series of strategic and operational roles focussed on influencing industry-wide health and safety improvements. Tas has a PhD in psychology from the University of Sydney. She has expertise in systems thinking as well as a significant track record of research in safety science, and training as an appointed inspector.

February 2026

What makes a great OHS executive

Presentation by: Helen O’Keefe, Director, HOK Talent Solutions

CSG event video now available (members only)
Presentation package now available (members only)

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

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

Helen also explored essential behavioural competencies, including the soft skills and leadership traits that are predominantly requested when she is recruiting HSW executives reporting to CEOs or C-Suite leaders.

Helen concluded with an overview of the state of the HSW market in 2025. She identified the industries that experienced the most demand for HSW talent and those that slowed down, as well as the underlying economic or regulatory factors that drove this.

A popular annual speaker for Central Safety Group, Helen’s extensive experience in the field, specialised focus and deep network, make her insights highly valued by our audience.

The presenter:

Helen O’Keefe is the founder of HOK Talent Solutions, which celebrated 10 years of dedicated service to the OHS community in 2025. Operating Australia-wide, Helen manages recruitment assignments across various sectors and her passion for the health and safety industry stems from her extensive experience in the field - from both a recruitment perspective and having worked alongside OHS peers in her earlier career. Prior to establishing HOK Talent Solutions, Helen held the position of National Recruitment Manager at the Australian Red Cross and served as an HR Manager for the pharmaceutical company Glaxo-Smith-Kline (GSK).

October 2025

AI know-how & OHS

Presenters:

John Ansley, Co-Founder & Head of Revenue, Knowby
Gavin Kenny, Head of Health and Safety Systems Transformation, Opal

CSG event video now available (members only)
Presentation package now available (members only)

The topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being met with rising interest and speculation about how it can be applied in the workplace. An example of the successful use of AI in OHS was presented to Central Safety Group on Tuesday 14 October by John Ansley, co-founder of Knowby.

They have developed a digital tool, Knowby Pro, that takes the complexity out of instructions, giving instant access to critical information. John demonstrated how the Knowby Pro platform works, and the different ways it can be applied in business.

CSG Committee member Gavin Kenny, who is Head of Health and Safety Systems Transformation at Opal, contributed to the presentation by talking about how he uses the tool at his workplace. He gave his perspective on its application at Opal, and how it has improved their OHS communications.

Billed as an alternative to those painful how-to manuals and instructional videos, Knowby Pro allows users to create SOPs or work instructions using a combination of text and images and/or video, with the help of AI.
John and Gavin’s presentation included questions from the audience.

The presenter:

John Ansley is a technology expert who co-founded Knowby in 2021, building on his many years’ experience across the information technology landscape. He has provided advice and direction to a range of industries from start-up to major enterprise solutions, both in Australia and internationally. He has had roles as COO and Chief Information Officer, in business development, strategic consulting and digital transformation programs. Organisations he has worked with include Rio Tinto, BHP, Roche Pharma, Linfox and Toll Group. John has an MBA from the Australian Institute of Business.

The presenter:

Gavin Kenny has over 20 years’ experience in OHS, specialising in systems management. He has developed, integrated, and streamlined business systems across complex organisations. He likes to keep things simple and deliver innovative, practical solutions that address business challenges and mitigate risks. He is currently working in the packaging industry as Head of Health and Safety Systems Transformation, where he manages a team focused on delivering simple, user-friendly, and digitally enabled solutions. Previously he has worked with Melbourne Water, and Worley Parsons, where he managed the global HSE incident reporting database. Gavin holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Hons from Deakin University, and is a Committee member of Central Safety Group.

August 2025

Site Visit - Opal Specialty Packaging

Presentation by: Opal site visit

Presentation package now available (members only)

Opal Specialty Packaging provides tailored cardboard-based packaging solutions for small, medium and large businesses. Their fully integrated packaging development service is based on circular economy principles.

CSG members took a tour of their Oakleigh South production facility on Tuesday 19th August and saw Opal’s advanced manufacturing capabilities. Attendees learnt how they deal with hazards such as mobile plant, traffic management, noise and machine guarding.

They also heard about recent safety programs related to video SOPs and streamlining the on-boarding of casuals.

Opal’s sustainable corrugated cardboard packaging solutions cover every application you can think of, from smartly designed bespoke boxes and vibrant digital print to high-end corrugated cardboard point-of-purchase displays for retailers.

The presenter:

Not applicable

June 2025

Challenging mainstream OHS views

Presentation by: Kevin Jones, Editor, SafetAtWorkBlog

CSG event video now available (members only)
Presentation package now available (members only)

We can always count on Kevin Jones to broaden our horizons via new books and publications on a range of topics. His presentation to Central Safety Group on Tuesday 10 June 2025 was no exception.

Kevin's discussion included publications that are not directly related to OHS, but provide valuable insights that can stimulate an OHS professional's thinking about their approach to OHS.

By challenging mainstream views on topics such as leadership, Kevin aims to inspire discussion and widen our knowledge of important topics.

Kevin's overview included topics directly related to OHS as well, such as a recent study about employee well-being and mental health.

The presentation was followed by a question and discussion session.

The presenter:

Kevin Jones is a consultant and advisor in a wide range of OHS projects. He is internationally recognised for his commentary and analysis on safety-related matters in his popular award-winning SafetyAtWorkBlog (safetyatworkblog.com). Kevin is a Life Member of Central Safety Group.