Safety champion celebrated at South Australian WHS forum

An intensive care nurse from the Royal Adelaide Hospital is South Australia's newest safety champion. Senior clinical nurse Fiona Noble has won the inaugural SafeWork SA HSR of the Year, an honour created to spotlight people who keep risk visible on the front line.

Award snapshot

• Recipient: Fiona Noble, an intensive care unit representative at SA's busiest public hospital.
• Event: the 2025 HSR Forum, hosted in Adelaide.
• Organisers: the state regulator, unions and industry bodies.
• Why it matters: elected representatives act as an early-warning system for emerging hazards.

More than 200 representatives gathered at the SA safety forum

Over 200 Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) from across South Australia recently gathered at the Adelaide Pavilion for the 2025 forum, organised by SafeWork SA in collaboration with SA Unions, the SA Business Chamber, and ReturnToWorkSA.

Sessions covered workplace safety, psychosocial risk and consultation duties, followed by the ceremony for the state's first HSR award, honouring the leading champions of frontline safety.

Regulator praises a ‘critical’ contribution

SafeWork SA Executive Director Glenn Farrell said the news gave a often-overlooked profession its moment in the spotlight.

“HSRs play a vital role in collaborating with workers and management to make workplaces safe,” he said.

“Fiona’s commitment to her HSR role in such a critical workplace environment is impressive and thoroughly deserving of this award.”

Why elected representatives matter across SA's industries

Health services, construction and manufacturing all depend on someone willing to raise an unpopular question early. Inside a tertiary hospital that may mean hazardous manual tasks, occupational violence or mental health pressure; on construction sites it is usually falls, plant movements and electrical isolation.

Each representative is elected by a defined work group, which gives them standing to inspect, request information and escalate unresolved concerns under state legislation.

SafeWork SA inspectors keep returning to a familiar cluster of risks — and representatives who understand each one can speak up before an incident forces the issue:

• Plant and machinery: unguarded plant, missing isolation locks, and mobile plant operating close to pedestrians.
• Electrical risk: damaged leads, overdue electrical testing and tagging, plus ageing electrical installations in older buildings.
• Falls from height: unprotected edges, ladder misuse, and high-risk construction work signed off without a current SWMS.
• Psychosocial hazards: fatigue, aggression, bullying and unreasonable workloads that erode judgement.
• Hot work and confined spaces: permits issued without gas testing or standby rescue arrangements.
• Traffic conflict: shared routes where reversing trucks meet crews on foot.

Turning recognition into daily practice

Celebrating a safety champion is easy; resourcing one is harder. Organisations chasing the same outcome fund HSR training, protect release time, and document systems that reflect how work is actually performed.

Practical foundations include:

• A current WHS policy template naming consultation duties and reporting lines.
• A written safety manual template covering plant registration, electrical equipment checks and hazardous energy control.
• Risk registers separating physical hazards from mental strain, each with a named owner.
• Integrated WHS, quality and environmental management systems so compliance evidence sits in one place.
• Plant and equipment inspection schedules verified by supervisors rather than assumed.
• Documented electrical work permits issued only to licensed contractors.
• Toolbox talks giving construction crews and clinical teams a genuine chance to speak.

More South Australian safety news

Regulator news matters for duty holders: prosecution outcomes, alerts and codes of practice signal where compliance attention lands next. SafeWork SA publishes those updates alongside guidance tailored to the construction industry and small business (see safework.sa.gov.au).

In related news, a South Australian truck driver joined a heavy vehicle safety campaign to share hard-won lessons from behind the wheel.

Earlier news coverage also urged local employers to lift standards during National Safe Work Month, when construction and manufacturing sites typically schedule extra checks.

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