The following judges have shared the responsibility of deciding award winners for the 2023 Australian Workplace Health & Safety Awards, putting in time and energy, during challenging times, to ensure we acknowledge some of the great work that’s going on in the field of health and safety today.
Karim Ali
Karim is a Fellow and Chartered Health and Safety Professional of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS). He is the Co-Chair, New Members Coordinator and Policy Lead of the AIHS’s NSW branch, and a member of the National Policy and Mentoring Committees. Karim holds a master’s degree in HSE Management, a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and diplomas in OHS/WHS management. With a career spanning over 16 years, Karim has effectively managed HSE risks in the most challenging and high-risk industries worldwide. Moreover, Karim is a certified project (PMP), change, and risk (PMI-RMP) manager, as well as a certified lead auditor, trainer, assessor, and investigator. Furthermore, Karim is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and a Chartered Member (CMIOSH) of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). Karim currently works as the General Manager of Health, Safety, Environment, Quality and Transformation with one of the leading companies in the Energy Sector. Outside work, Karim is a volunteer firefighter and the deputy health and safety representative for the Hills District with Rural Fire Services (RFS) NSW. He is also the President of two sports clubs: Hills Champions Inc and Bella Vista Football Club. Finally, Karim’s commitment to personal growth and development is unwavering, and he continuously seeks to enhance his knowledge through education, training, and vocational qualifications.
Celia Antonovsky
Celia is a passionate and experienced health and safety professional who looks for opportunities to progress the standing of the profession. She has worked across a variety of high risk sectors in Australia and New Zealand including oil and gas, construction, mining, rail and marine. In her day job, she currently holds a senior leadership position with an international public transport provider. Through this role she is striving to improve safety outcomes internally, as well as within the industry.
In her volunteer capacity, Celia has been a member elected Director for the past three years and has recently accepted the role of Company Secretary for the AIHS. To complement this, she leads the committee representing the WA chapter of the AIHS and is motivated to create a thriving local network. She is extremely passionate about promoting the virtues of the Body Of Knowledge as a fundamental asset underpinning the profession in Australia.
Celia has a Bachelor of Psychology and a Masters of Occupational Health and Safety. These qualifications have supported several opportunities to participate in industry leading projects including psychosocial hazard management and process safety.
Kym Bancroft
Kym is a passionate and future-state focused executive health and safety leader, holding a Masters in Safety Leadership from Griffith University, Masters in Applied Psychology (Organisational) and a Graduate Diploma in OHS from Murdoch University. She is an endorsed Organisational Psychologist.
Over the past 25 years, Kym has amassed significant experience working in safety leadership roles across a diverse range of industries, cultures and geographical locations including open-cut mining in Canada, through to offshore gas in the US, and a raft of sectors across Asia Pacific. Kym’s more recent roles have included the Head of Safety, Environment and Wellbeing for Serco Asia Pacific and the Head of Health and Safety at Queensland Urban Utilities, where she successfully led an ambitious safety cultural transformation across the business.
In the last twelve months Kym has been working as the WHS Queensland, Electrical Safety Office and Workers Compensation Regulator in Queensland. As the Deputy Director-General of the Office of Industrial Relations, Kym focused on improving safety, health, productivity and fairness in Queensland workplaces. Kym is currently the Director of a bespoke agency, New View Safety, assisting organisations in operationalising Safety Differently and HOP.
Jane Bourke
Jane was appointed Director of Woolworths Safety, Health and Wellbeing in March 2022.
Jane is a globally accomplished professional with extensive leadership experience developing and executing strategy to drive sustainable business performance. She is known for her engaging and energetic style, achievement focus and determination for business success.
Jane works best in transformation and high-change roles in complex environments which require a strong risk based approach with business acumen. She has significant experience with HSE transformation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Retail; multi-billion dollar construction programs; oil and gas (onshore and offshore); transport, logistics and warehousing (first, middle and last mile).
Jane’s experience has taken her to senior roles within Global companies (Amazon, BP) as well as Australia’s ASX Top 20 companies (Origin Energy, Telstra) in addition she has had considerableexperience working as a Senior OH&S Consultant in a diverse range of organisations with varying risk profiles.
Jane thrives on working internationally, she lived in the UK, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and USA, she has a proven track record of managing within diverse cultures. She is tertiary qualified in health and safety, and Ergonomics/Human factors which is complemented with a Masters of BusinessAdministration from Australia’s leading MBA school (Melbourne Business School).
Deb Burlington
Debra has been providing coaching and facilitation for individuals and organisations for over 20 years. Her approach has been described as fluid and insightful. She has the capacity to hear what has not been said, and offer insights that a person has not been able to see for themselves.
Debra truly believes in the capacity of the people she coaches and trains to bring awareness to the habits of behaviour that are holding them back and make different choices.
She recently authored a book aimed at informing people about effective coaching conversations and is regularly called upon by organisations to coach and train their senior leadership team.
Jeremy Clay
Jeremy Clay has maintained safety leadership roles in health and safety most recently as the Group Safety, Environmental and Quality Manager for Urban Maintenance Systems, a medium sized international maintenance company servicing enterprise business and government organisations.
Prior to working with UMS, Jeremy was the Risk and Compliance Manager at Kmart Group where he manages OHS and business risk for a business with diverse workforce throughout Australia and New Zealand in the retail and supply chain sector.
Prior to moving to Melbourne, Jeremy was the General Manager People and Safety at Southern Cross Support Services, a Child Protection and NDIS Company based in Bundaberg, Central Queensland. Jeremy led a team of 30 safety and HR professionals in a challenging environment, introducing strategies to employ up to 1,000 new care workers annual while still maintaining substantial compliance for our clients.
Simon Coleman
Simon Coleman joined Ampcontrol as the General Manager Health, Safety, Environment, & Quality in 2018. Prior to Ampcontrol, Simon has over 20 years’ experience in Mining & Resources, Automotive, and Government sectors with Rio Tinto, Ford Motor Company & Victoria Government.
Across the various sectors and roles, his focus on improving organisational culture, leadership development, health & wellbeing, and fostering a mature risk management approach has built a reputation for delivering sustained improvement. He is passionate about developing leaders and teams in large organisations, and high-risk sectors, to be capable of achieving ongoing improved Health & Wellbeing, Safety, Environment, Community and Quality outcomes. Over the past 2 decades Simon has also been actively involved in developing and mentoring emerging HSEQ professionals.
Simon is a Certified Professional Member (AIHS), a Graduate of Australia Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), and holds tertiary qualifications in WH&S management, Occupational Hygiene and Occupational Therapy. Simon is a non-executive director of a NFP and has been a judge for AIHS in 2021.
Margaret Cook
Associate Professor Margaret Cook is currently employed as the Program Leader for Occupational Health and Safety Education, within the University of Queensland, Australia. Margaret initially qualified as an Occupational Therapist and completed higher degrees in Occupational Health and Safety and Ergonomics. She is a Certified Professional Ergonomist and a Chartered OHS Professional. She holds a range of Ministerial Appointments, acting as an expert on Government Panels and Committees, and is a Director and Chair of the Occupational Therapy Council of Australia.
Kate Curtain
Kate is a senior work health and safety lawyer in the national Employment and Labour team at Corrs Chambers Westgarth based in Sydney. With over ten years’ experience, Kate works with clients on all aspects of work health and safety laws, including compliance, governance, incident investigation and legal proceedings. Her experience has been across a range of industries, particularly those with high risk, and predominantly in the harmonised jurisdictions.
Kate is currently Co-Chair for the New South Wales Branch of the AIHS.
Sarah-Jane Dunford
Sarah-Jane Dunford is a successful and practiced safety consultant and international speaker with two decades of hands on experience in workplace health and Safety. SJ is the founder and director of Riskology, a boutique WHS consultancy. SJ is also the general manager of the Hunter Safety Awards, and the NSW Regional Safety Conference and Expo where she promotes WHS innovation and excellence in the region.
SJ was appointed judge and founding Chairperson of the AWHSA during its inception and since that time she has served as judge each year of the AWHSA.
Steve Harvey
Steve is a seasoned operations-focused Safety professional with a wealth of experience in embedding contemporary safety practices and driving organisational change. He is dedicated to his mission of making safety fun while maintaining a strong focus on engagement. When he’s not immersed in the world of safety, you might find Steve at an open mic comedy club, as he believes that finding humour in our work is vital for active engagement.
Steve is the founder of the Brisbane Safety Differently Book* club, Steve is passionate about continuous learning and facilitating knowledge sharing among like-minded professionals.
Keith Hoskins
Keith is a highly accomplished Health, Safety and Environment professional with more than 30 years of experience working in high-risk industries such as construction, facility management, supply chains, telecommunications, and energy markets. Keith has worked across entire organisations including senior executive leadership teams, Health, Safety and Environment Boards and engaging with work teams.
Keith joined the business in 2020 and is part of the Executive Leadership Team responsible for the entire Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability functions which includes managing public safety risks.
Before joining Endeavour Energy, Keith was the Head of Health, Safety and Environment at APA Group which is Australia’s largest gas energy infrastructure group with over A$25 billion of gas pipelines and other energy assets including renewable energy generation.
Keith holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Occupational Hazard Management and is a Business Management Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Chartered Professional Member of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety.
Brett Jones
Brett is a Certified Generalist OHS Professional (AIHS) and Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). He has more than 20 years’ experience working in WHS roles across numerous industries, including construction, resources, government operations, transport, aviation, water, and manufacturing. Brett has represented Industry Associations and Professional bodies on expert panels and regulatory reviews, and has been volunteering for the SIA/AIHS for 20 years in many roles, including being the current Chair of the AIHS Queensland Branch. His current role is Operations Manager & Principal WHS Consultant for GCG Health Safety & Hygiene, a leading Australian WHS and Occupational Hygiene consultancy.
Brett’s experience also includes WHS consultancy and auditing work throughout Australia and in many overseas jurisdictions (Middle East, UK, US, Europe, South-East Asia). Brett is an experienced developer and auditor of WHS management systems, and is an Exemplar Global Certified WHS Auditor, a WHS Qld Accredited WHS Auditor (Construction), and an Australian Government appointed Federal Safety Officer (FSO).
Garry Kelly
Zenergy Recruitment is Australia’s leading Health, Safety, Environmental & Engineering search and consultancy organisation with offices in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.
Garry specialise in search and consultancy across the full breadth of the HSEQ & Risk spectrum with specific knowledge and focus across: transport projects, infrastructure & rail, construction & engineering, utilities, energy, power systems and government
Xin Li
Xin Li is the Manager, Health and Safety Systems at Icon Water and is the current Chair of the AIHS ACT Branch. As a leader in health and safety across multiple industry sectors, Xin has a strong passion for recognising leading professional standards and practices through awards. Having previously led state, national, and international committees in the health and safety profession, Xin continuously promotes the importance of developing and recognising professionalism to improve the health and safety industry. Xin is honoured by participating in the judging process for the 2023 Australian Workplace Health and Safety Awards and looks forward to reviewing all the fantastic submissions.
Lauran Maddock
Laura has been the health and safety advisor for a plantation forest management company in Tasmania since 2017, where she leads their safety team. Prior to this she spent over 20 years in the tertiary sector in a range of disciplines. Laura holds a Masters degree in Occupational Health and Safety and a range of vocational qualifications. She has been a member of the AIHS Tas branch committee for over 6 years and has been the Chair for the past 3 years. Laura also sits on a number of forest industry safety committees at state and national levels and has assisted in reviewing and creating a number of safety modules for both tertiary and VET courses. Her commitment is to a holistic approach to wellbeing, health and safety with a focus on assisting people to become the best they can be as safety leaders.
Cameron Montgomery
Cameron has an extensive background with almost 20 years of experience in OHS and Injury Management along with HR, Risk Management, Insurance and Corporate Governance. Through his work in the Commonwealth and Local Government sectors in regional Victoria, he has developed extensive experience in public administration, construction, arts, health care and tourism industries. As a safety professional, he serves on the Industry Advisory Board for VIOSH at Federation University, Stakeholder Reference Group, WorkSafe Victoria as an industry expert. In addition, Cameron also serves as a member of the Public Access Agency Reference group for the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner. Cameron is a Certified Generalist OHS Professional and Fellow of the Safety Institute of Australia. Cameron has been a Member of the SIA Victorian Committee 2005 – 2009, 2010 – present, and was Chair of that Committee 2010 – 2011.
William Newell
William Newell is an experienced strategic leader and a non-executive director with over 20 years of experience in transactional and transformational leadership.
He has specialized in enterprise risk management involving governance, workplace health and safety management, security risk analysis and management, environmental management, workers’ compensation, investigations, intelligence and audits.
He has applied his knowledge and skills across various industries in Australia and abroad, including corrections, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, restaurants and adult education.
He is employed with the Northern Territory Government, Department of the Attorney-General and Justice, Correctional Services as the Director Security and Safety and the Deputy Director Strategy and Performance.
William holds a Master in Business Administration, a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership, a Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety and a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration.
He also has advanced vocational qualifications in Strategic Leadership, Work Health and Safety, Government (Investigations), Government (Workplace Inspections) and Public Safety (Emergency Management).
He has volunteered for almost three years with, and currently Chairs, the NT Branch of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS).
He is also the Chair of the Victims of Crime Northern Territory board. In addition to the Australia Institute of Health and Safety, he maintains active involvement with the Safety Governance Foundation and Institute (Fellow – FSGF), Governance Institute of Australia (Fellow – FGIA), Australian Institute of Management Western Australia (Fellow – FAIM) and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
David Ninnes
David joined Westpac in 2014 as the Group Head of Health Safety and Wellbeing and is presently the Group Head of Accountability. Prior to this, David was the Director Risk Management for Asia Pacific at InterContinental Hotels Group.
David is an advisor to regulators on matters such as safety, prudential accountability, ethics and risk management; and former lecturer at Southern Cross University and the Governance Institute of Australia. David is a non-executive director for a few not-for-profit enterprises and has been a judge for the AIHS awards for 3 years.
Michael O’Reilly
Michael O’Reilly is a behavioural scientist and former HSE Director with 12 years of heavy industry experience across the globe for major resource companies. In 2006, Michael founded Harness Energy, which has since developed into a multi-national registered training organisation spanning 6 facilities across Asia Pacific. After noticing a need to bring digital innovation into the workplace training industry, Michael then founded Next World in 2019. Now 4 years into operation, Next World is a world leader in the virtual reality safety training space with clients in over 15 countries and counting.
Madeleine Page
Madeleine is an enthusiastic and innovative emerging health and safety leader. She started her career in H&S after graduating from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Occupational Health and Safety Science (Honours) and went onto to study a Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management at RMIT. In 2012, she was awarded the Australian Young H&S Leader award.
Madeleine has been responsible for providing HS&W leadership, assurance and support in a variety of industries and projects including utilities, construction, engineering and government. She is currently a Manager in the EHS Consultancy team at EY working across a variety of sectors to support clients in developing health, safety and wellbeing strategies and solutions, and also works in the psychosocial risk management. Prior to her work at EY, Madeleine was the Regional H&S Business Partner for Victoria and South Australia at Aurecon where she led the H&S function and worked on the development of mental health and wellbeing strategies, tools and supports and implementing a risk-based approach to a variety of high-risk safety activities.
Scott Paine
Scott is the Managing Director of Work Science; a national firm working with clients to diagnose and solve interesting and complex challenges. The firm recently developed the Department of Defence’s new Work Health and Safety Strategy; is partnering with USYD, Curtin University and the NSW Centre for WHS on welding fumes research; and is supporting some of Australia’s most recognisable organisations with their risk management programs. Scott has previously worked in-house in both WHS and HR roles, and for some of Australia’s most reputable consulting firms. He is currently studying an MBA at Sydney University, and in his down time, enjoys heading out for a run, hitting the ski fields, or savouring a good red. Scott is proud of the Work Science team recently helping Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation achieve its IMS certification, supports pride in leadership and see inclusion as a key factor for enhancing workplace wellbeing and increasing recruitment and retention performance
Tanya Pelja
Tanya is Executive Director, Health, Safety Environment and Quality (HSEQ) at BGIS, where she sets the vision, leads the strategic direction, and manages the performance of HSEQ and Injury Management for APAC.
As a multi award-winning expert in her field with over 15+ years’ experience, Tanya has held prominent and influential leadership positions across both Government and Private sectors. Her people focused leadership style allows Tanya to deliver actionable insights for boards and leadership teams.
Tanya has a reputation for building organisational culture, increasing risk maturity, leading change management, environmental, health and wellbeing programs. Tanya intuitively builds successful organisational partnerships and high performing teams across business functions.
Dino Pisaniello
Dino Pisaniello is Adjunct Professor and recently retired Director of Adelaide Exposure Science and Health in the School of Public Health at the University of Adelaide. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Indonesia.
Originally trained as a research chemist, Dino works at the intersection of occupational health, public health and emergency management.
He began his health and safety career in 1984, working in the government, and has been a university health and safety “pracademic” since 1987. From 1996-2015 he co-led an occupational health and safety management teaching program, jointly run between the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.
Dino has expertise in chemical hazard risk assessment and management, occupational and environmental epidemiology, intervention research, and health and safety education.
Dr. Susanne Tepe
Dr. Susanne Tepe currently the Registrar of the Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board. She retired from RMIT as Associate Professor of Occupational Health and Safety at RMIT, where she taught OHS, toxicology, risk management and critical thinking to postgrads and undergrads and acted as Learning & Teaching Associate Dean for the School of Applied Science. Prior to that, she worked in industry in OHS, toxicology and quality roles. Her research interests are focused on implementation and evaluation of OHS interventions in complex environments where she used action research, qualitative methods and games to compliment her traditional scientific methods; she has supervised both Masters and PhD students. Her PhD is in Toxicology and Environmental Health, she has an MBA and a Masters of Organisational Systems. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (formerly SIA), and a member of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH) and the Australasian College of Toxicology and Risk Assessors (ACTRA).
She engages in many activities as a volunteer, and sits on several committees associated with child safeguarding, finance and education for various charities.