Questacon, Bounce, The Summit and an Army Cadet outcome show why activity approval must be supported by effective controls and verification.

A cracked, dropping slab was a warning that the conditions had changed. The Toorak, VIC, prosecution highlights the decision point between noticing instability and continuing demolition.

Five untested charges against an SA amusement-hire company put the reliability of inspection information in focus. Here is a practical way for schools and event organisers to connect records with the devices on site.

The 1997 Royal Canberra Hospital implosion shows what happens when complex demolition, contractor competence, regulatory oversight and public exposure are allowed to drift apart.

An 800 kg gate fell after damaged powered gates were operated manually for 21 months. The SMB sentencing decision examines concurrent company duties, officer due diligence and the controls that should have stopped the incident.

The driver was held accountable, but he was not the whole safety system. The Greta bus crash exposes what happens when warning information fails to change operational decisions.

HMAS Voyager turned across the path of HMAS Melbourne during night flying exercises on 10 Feb 64. Eighty-two people died, leaving a lasting lesson about positive control, authority gradients and the danger of waiting for someone else to intervene.

Painting and Blasting Industries had procedures, inspections and an external WHS consultant, but an unguarded conveyor remained accessible to workers. The NSW Industrial Court decision provides a strong lesson about guarding, isolation and whether safety audits are actually finding critical hazards.

A $90,000 asbestos prosecution shows why identifying ACM is only the start. From a supermarket cleaner’s room to Defence facilities covered in asbestos warning stickers, the real test is whether hazard information changes the work before somebody drills, cuts or demolishes the material.

The Costa Concordia disaster was more than one captain’s failure. It exposed weaknesses in deviation control, authority, emergency response, passenger preparation and post-incident care. I also draw on my own experience surviving a fatal boat accident and the safety lessons that stayed with me.

Chemical Solutions was fined after failing to fully comply with an improvement notice by its due date. The bigger question for leaders is how a statutory regulatory action can remain overdue without triggering ownership, verification and escalation.

A prime mover and trailer travelled approximately 140 metres through fences, across a road and into neighbouring businesses. The driver forgot the park brake, but the organisation’s maintenance system had already been warned twice that the audible safety control was disabled.

Gerald Hoekstra and Ede Taric survived the initial Rainbow Desert Enduro collision, but not the fire that followed. The coronial findings expose how compliant equipment, unverified escape arrangements and inadequate fire suppression failed when they were needed most.

A man was fatally struck by metal debris ejected from a tractor-mounted slasher while standing approximately five metres away. The contractor knew the risk and had documented a 30 metre exclusion zone, but the work continued.

A 20-year-old engineering student suffered serious spinal injuries after unstable ground gave way beneath her at the edge of a three-metre excavation. The excavation was already showing signs of failure, yet work continued without battering, fencing or effective edge protection.

A robot did not suddenly become confused, develop intent or decide that a worker was a box. It performed the movement its control system allowed it to perform while a person remained inside its hazardous operating envelope. On 10 Jan 26, a worker entered part of an automated packaging line at Multisteps’ Narangba factory in Queensland to inspect a sensor. The machine had reportedly stopped twice within approximately ten minutes and was known to malfunction regularly. While th

The 2023 Gold Coast helicopter collision killed four people. The ATSB's final report shows how separate changes to pads, aircraft, traffic flow and operating arrangements combined to create a new conflict point.

On 27 Jan 21, marine salvage worker Max Haywood was fatally struck by the collapsing mast of a submerged steel yacht during a crane operation at Rozelle, New South Wales. The lift involved an uncertain load, an unsuitable lifting point, overloaded equipment and an operator who did not hold the required crane licence. The incident was not caused by an obscure technical defect or an unforeseeable change in conditions. It developed from a work method that replaced engineering, v

On the morning of 21 Feb 17, I was climbing the external stairs at a large transport depot in the suburb of Melbourne Airport when I saw a heavy plume of black smoke rising to the south-east. With a long-standing interest in aviation, I knew it was in the general direction of Essendon Airport. I had previously taken Air Force Cadets to Essendon for visits to the Victoria Police Air Wing, Air Ambulance Victoria, a commercial aviation operator and the control tower. I also had

Space Shuttle Columbia launches on mission STS-107 from Kennedy Space Center on 16 Jan 03. Image credit: NASA. On 16 Jan 03, Space Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA on mission STS-107. Approximately 82 seconds after launch, a section of insulating foam separated from the shuttle’s external fuel tank and struck the reinforced carbon-carbon panels protecting the leading edge of its left wing. The foam strike was captured by launch cameras, but