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Showing 'September 2022: When a company is small and risks are high'.
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Small Companies
with High
Risks

CSG September 2022 speaker: Ben Thomson: Small Companies with High Risks

When a company is small and risks are high

Presentation by: Ben Thomson, Safety Manager, Flight Academy Australia (FAA)

Presentation package now available (members only)

Aviation demands particularly sound safety management systems and behaviours. Ben Thomson, Safety Manager for Flight Academy Australia (FAA), a light aircraft pilot training business, faces special challenges with instructors and students from a wide range of backgrounds.

In a zoom talk to Central Safety Group on 13 September, Ben discussed his approach and actions that could be applied equally to other small companies wanting to refresh and strengthen their safety management systems.

Ben found it was important to customise and go beyond the safety templates provided by CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority), thereby creating safety management systems with performance indicators and responses tailored to his workplace. “We’ve changed the way we look at safety – we’re now more action-oriented and proactive,” he explained. “For example, teaching people to report incidents that they’d otherwise regard as routine. This is giving me useful data to measure what’s working.”

He also spoke about a range of OHS issues that can be problematic for small businesses, including the loss of ‘safety corporate memory’ when people leave.

The presenter:

Ben Thomson has been an aviation safety manager for the last four years and a flight instructor since 2015. He holds a Commercial Pilot License, Multi-engine Aeroplane Rating, Instrument Rating and Flight Instructor Rating, with training approvals for airline cadet training. He has trained a wide variety of students from basic flight sequences to airline cadet training in multi-engine aircraft. His role includes developing company safety policy and objectives, developing and monitoring safety performance objectives, managing aviation fatigue management and safety management systems, and investigating incidents. He is also involved in the writing of aviation operations manuals and flight training syllabi. Prior to becoming a pilot, Ben worked as a public servant, including as a data analyst for the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and in the Planning Decisions Unit for the Greater London Authority.

 
 

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What makes a
Great OHS
Executive

CSG February 2026 event - Presenter Helen O'Keefe, Director, HOK Talent Solutions - What makes a great OHS executive


What makes a great OHS executive

Presented by: Helen O'Keefe, Director, HOK Talent Solutions
Topic: What makes a great OHS executive

How: CSG Lunchtime Presentation - via zoom or in person

Date: Tuesday 10 February 2026, noon
Non-Members welcome to attend

What makes a great OHS executivet
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.
Helen will also explore 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 will conclude with an overview of the state of the HSW market in 2025. She will identify 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 presentation will be followed by the 2025 AGM for Financial Members.

About the Speaker:

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).

Date: Tuesday 10 February 2026
Time: 12:00pm to 12:30pm
Where: Regus Yarra Room, 50th floor, 120 Collins Street, Melbourne. Our thanks to Helen O'Keefe for providing the venue.
How: Online via Zoom or in person - the link will be sent out on the afternoon of the Monday preceding the event
N.B. A video recording of the session will be available on the website exclusively for financial members.
Cost: Financial members* free. Others $15
RSVP: COB Monday 9 February 2026. Online using our RSVP form
Join: Join CSG now [Individual membership fee: $85.]
*If unsure of your membership status, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
   RSVP: by Monday 9 February.
Online using our RSVP form or Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., phone the secretary T: (03) 9387 9768 Mobile 0417 040 252
The Zoom event link will be emailed on the afternoon of Monday 9 February.

Don’t forget to put every second Tuesday from February to December in your Calendar!

 

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