Australia seafood industry launches safety program

Australia Seafood Industry Launches Safety Program

Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) in partnership with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) has launched a four-year safety program for the commercial seafood industry. This initiative, known as Sea Safe, aims to measurably improve personal safety culture across operations nationwide, supporting workers who keep our supply chains running safely.

"The safety and wellbeing of our industry and its people is paramount, and we need to do everything we can to ensure our people and our operations are the safest they can be," SIA CEO Veronica Papacosta said.

What Is the Sea Safe Program?

Sea Safe is a four-year program designed to drive culture improvement and change throughout the sector through a focus on peer-to-peer sharing, learning and ultimately, behaviour changes. Seafood Industry Australia's national safety project SeaSafe unites operators, crew and support services under one coordinated strategy.

Key priorities of the program include:

• Mental health early intervention, engagement and peer support networks
• Education initiatives tailored to on-water and shore-based teams
• Practical outcomes that reduce incidents across daily operations

Ms Veronica said "Sea Safe is a good example of how the industry can partner with the government to improve workplace safety." Funding and technical guidance from FRDC underpin much of the program's research base, ensuring recommendations reflect real conditions faced by Australia's seafood workforce.

Why This Matters for Australia's Seafood Sector

Safety services within the commercial seafood sector have historically lagged behind other high-risk industries, making programs like this critical. By pooling resources across SIA, AMSA and FRDC, the program delivers services that individual operators could rarely afford alone.

For businesses seeking additional information on strengthening workplace safety systems, comparable initiatives exist across other high-risk sectors. WorkSafe's young worker safety program offers a useful comparison point, while the inspection program enhancing safety standards in WA's meat industry demonstrates similar peer-driven improvement models. Construction operators may also find value in reviewing how a program aims to improve safety in the construction industry.

Supporting Safety Documentation Across Industries

Organisations looking to build robust safety management frameworks can explore SafetyDocs' safety software solutions, along with ready-made compliance tools such as the Electrical Safety Policy. Businesses operating in New Zealand can also access an Electrical Safety Checklist and Workplace Safety Rules documentation tailored to local regulatory requirements. SafetyDocs also runs a Reseller Program for partners wanting to extend these services to their own clients.

As Sea Safe rolls out over the coming four years, SIA will continue reporting on outcomes, giving stakeholders across the sector visibility into how these services translate into measurable safety improvements on land and at sea.

Read more here.