<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Jon Hillis]]></title><description><![CDATA[Empowering safety and leadership in high-risk industries.]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2026 06:58:26 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.safetyjon.com.au/es/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Painted Lines Do Not Stop Forklifts]]></title><description><![CDATA[A $200,000 reminder that traffic management must physically control the risk On 17 Dec 25, D’Orsogna Limited was convicted and fined $200,000 after a reversing forklift struck a worker and pinned her legs to the ground at its Mickleham warehouse in Victoria. The prosecution is another reminder that instructions, eye contact, painted lines and high-visibility clothing do not physically prevent mobile plant from colliding with a person. The incident occurred in April 2023 while a team leader...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/painted-lines-do-not-stop-forklifts</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a696f9b94da60ff381b72f4</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_4741646b4f70716254666f~mv2_d_7054_4705_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A SWMS Is Not Self-Executing]]></title><description><![CDATA[A worker entered a demolition site with two feet and left without the toes and part of the forefoot of his left foot. The risk had been identified, the controls had been documented and the business had a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS), but the controls described in that document were not operating when they were needed. Photo by Frederick Shaw on Unsplash On 02 Jul 26, the South Australian Employment Court convicted A. Haros Demolition Pty Ltd of a Category 2 offence under the Work Health...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/a-swms-is-not-self-executing</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a54ba72387a17f578abfc05</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:20:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_e0f726b43b764a4dbab00acaf587b3a7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The First Incident Was The Control Review]]></title><description><![CDATA[Two Queensland prosecutions released in Jul 26 provide useful lessons about how organisations manage work outside their normal operations and how they respond when an existing control system has already failed. One involved an apprentice losing an eye during an unfamiliar ancillary task, while the other involved a dozer operator spending approximately eight hours trapped upside down beneath a coal stockpile. The industries, work and legislation were different, but the underlying failure was...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/the-first-incident-was-the-control-review</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a54298b52c8895348a040ed</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:07:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_973ec1af14244baf8a3dfc43fe92a2e9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Wumbulgal Agriculture Prosecution - Lessons to Learn]]></title><description><![CDATA[Photo by Kilyan Sockalingum on Unsplash On 02 Jul 26, the Industrial Court of New South Wales convicted Wumbulgal Agriculture Pty Ltd following the death of a farmhand operating a quad bike during livestock mustering. The company was fined $555,000, ordered to pay SafeWork NSW’s agreed costs of $55,000, and required to arrange side-by-side vehicle training for all workers employed or engaged by the business. The offence was prosecuted as a Category 2 contravention of sections 19(1) and 32 of...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/wumbulgal-agriculture-prosecution-lessons-to-learn</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a54220252c8895348a02e2d</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Safety Leadership]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 23:32:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_31e14f3a28044edfab01e5bf15c11617~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When The Aircraft Couldn't Tell Us What Happened... Lessons From TAA Flight 538]]></title><description><![CDATA[Shortly after 2200h on 10 Jun 60, Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538 crashed into the sea while approaching Mackay Airport. The Fokker F27 Friendship, registered VH-TFB and named Abel Tasman, was carrying 25 passengers and four crew, and every person aboard was killed. Heavy fog had affected Mackay Airport and prevented the aircraft from completing an earlier landing attempt. The crew remained near Mackay while conditions were monitored, but contact was subsequently lost during another...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/when-the-aircraft-couldn-t-tell-us-what-happened-lessons-from-taa-flight-538</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a54cddb2bf41828e2e57181</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Road and Transport Safety]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyGLtrXY8FM" length="0" type="video"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When The Green Signal Lies: Lessons From The Brooklyn Train Collision]]></title><description><![CDATA[On 06 May 90, a heritage passenger train hauled by steam locomotive 3801 stalled while climbing the Cowan Bank, approximately five kilometres south of Brooklyn on the Sydney to Newcastle railway. A following CityRail interurban passenger train received a proceed indication and struck the rear of the stationary excursion train, killing six people and injuring 93. The final carriage of the excursion train was destroyed and the front of the interurban train was extensively damaged. What makes...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/when-the-green-signal-lies-lessons-from-the-brooklyn-train-collision</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a54cabb8146a70f080cddbb</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Road and Transport Safety]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2026 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_e380558211d545a3a808fa5f9175c045~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Engaging A Contractor Does Not Outsource Operational Control]]></title><description><![CDATA[The CCTV footage lasts only seconds, but it captures the entire problem. External contractors are moving a coin blanking press weighing around three tonnes with a forklift when the press becomes unstable, falls from the forklift tines and narrowly misses a worker standing beside it. The worker escapes, so the event becomes a near miss rather than a fatality. That distinction matters enormously to the worker, but it does not make the underlying failure less serious. The footage should be...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/engaging-a-contractor-does-not-outsource-operational-control</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a54bf9bc0ce79c7f0e16fde</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_c6c2e7b60b06458d9ee025e4fc3bdcd4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cowper: Why a Signed Drug and Alcohol Policy Is Not a Safety System]]></title><description><![CDATA[In the early hours of 20 Oct 89, a semi-trailer crossed onto the wrong side of the Pacific Highway near Cowper, north of Grafton, and struck an approaching passenger coach. The collision tore open the driver’s side of the coach, killed 21 people and injured another 22, while the coach came to rest in a roadside ditch only metres from the Clarence River. The truck driver was subsequently found to have been under the influence of amphetamines. ABC News retrospective examining the Cowper bus...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/cowper-why-a-signed-drug-and-alcohol-policy-is-not-a-safety-system</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a54c5576a07ced52ab0c703</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Road and Transport Safety]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_836715f9b5c7484eb11209593035d945~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Shocking Wake-Up Call: When A Government Agency Faces WHS Prosecution]]></title><description><![CDATA[On 26 May 25, Comcare publicly announced that Services Australia had been charged with breaching federal work health and safety laws after a worker was violently attacked at a Melbourne Centrelink office. The charge arose from a 23 May 23 incident at the Airport West Centrelink office, where a Centrelink worker suffered serious injuries after being stabbed by an individual at the workplace. This is not a matter to be treated as a standard “difficult customer” incident. It is a serious...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/a-shocking-wake-up-call-when-a-government-agency-faces-whs-prosecution</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3bcc9c96e17da783c6f293</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 12:29:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_23552d528f49491e9e837ceb9daebaba~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_933,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Glenbrook Rail Incident - When Degraded Systems Meet Human Misunderstanding]]></title><description><![CDATA[On 02 Dec 99, at approximately 0822h, an interurban passenger train collided with the rear of the Indian Pacific on the main western line east of Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Seven people were killed and 51 passengers required hospitalisation. The damage to both trains was extensive, the disruption to the rail network was significant, and the consequences extended well beyond the rolling stock, the timetable and the incident location. Glenbrook remains one of Australia’s...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/glenbrook-rail-incident-when-degraded-systems-meet-human-misunderstanding</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3bc621a6b1dcc288e27b6e</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 12:04:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_1c68fde3d80e4cb8b4419689851e87bb~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Kellogg Fined $510,000: When the System Exists but the Workface Does Not Hear It]]></title><description><![CDATA[On 19 Sep 25, Kellogg (Aust.) Pty Ltd was convicted in the Industrial Court of New South Wales and fined $510,000 after two workers fell approximately four metres from an elevated work platform at its Banksmeadow manufacturing site. SafeWork NSW reported the prosecution publicly on 23 Sep 25, confirming that the incident occurred on 03 Mar 23 when a truck reversed into a loading dock and struck the EWP with both workers inside. Image generated for visual effect. The two injured workers, Mr...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/kellogg-fined-510-000-when-the-system-exists-but-the-workface-does-not-hear-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a0b09a6e4e1fe1692b22569</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2026 12:51:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_f8c5e69ac31241e3bf83ac1316b9416e~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When One Fall Creates Two Convictions: Bridgeworks, Menai Civil, and the Myth of “Not My Worker”]]></title><description><![CDATA[On 11 Nov 22, a formworker fell nearly 3.85 metres from a bridge abutment at a construction site in Huntley, New South Wales, while stripping formwork. The worker was positioned on the top of the southern abutment, using an extension ladder to attach wire chains between a 26-tonne excavator and form soldiers, and was not wearing a harness because the steel available for anchoring was on the opposite side of the abutment. Image generate for visual effect. The incident resulted in two separate...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/when-one-fall-creates-two-convictions-bridgeworks-menai-civil-and-the-myth-of-not-my-worker</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a0b06c68ba6aec9a80fedda</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2026 12:42:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_71fd3ae22f8149bc87d5489c8e2a51d8~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Fatigue Becomes a Business Model: The Onkar Group Conviction]]></title><description><![CDATA[On 22 Sep 25, Onkar Group Pty Ltd, trading as Bakeology, and its sole director were convicted and fined a combined $1.43 million in the Wangaratta County Court after the fatigue-related death of a 27-year-old delivery driver. WorkSafe Victoria reported that the driver was 12 hours into an overnight shift when his van drifted into the path of an oncoming truck at Kialla West, south of Shepparton, in August 2022. Image generated for visual effect. The facts are brutal because they are simple. ...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/when-fatigue-becomes-a-business-model-the-onkar-group-conviction</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a0b04060b9e4f37fd2c86b7</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Road and Transport Safety]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2026 12:28:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_5bef04e7a5394215ad6f66232a3dcb8f~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_941,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Officer Due Diligence: The Part Where the Boss Can't Just Point at the Safety Manager]]></title><description><![CDATA[Officer due diligence is one of the more misunderstood parts of Australian WHS law, which is impressive given safety legislation already contains enough plain English avoidance to power a small Canberra department. At its core, due diligence means an officer must take reasonable, active and informed steps to ensure the organisation complies with its health and safety duties. It is not the same as doing every safety task personally, and it is not satisfied by hiring a safety manager, receiving...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/officer-due-diligence-the-part-where-the-boss-can-t-just-point-at-the-safety-manager</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69fd4eea99e4923e7ff67e9d</guid><category><![CDATA[Safety Leadership]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 03:14:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_bfada195294443b5b147cdbc518c35b1~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_941,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When the System Fails Quietly: The Green Waste Grinder Death That Should Never Have Happened]]></title><description><![CDATA[A worker is dead, a company has been fined $472,500, and another Australian prosecution has landed squarely on the same recurring issue seen across heavy industry for decades, hazardous plant interacting with inadequate systems of work. This time it involved a green waste grinder in New South Wales. The underlying failures were neither novel nor technically complex. That is what makes these incidents so frustrating from a safety perspective. According to SafeWork NSW, Northwest Recycling...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/when-the-system-fails-quietly-the-green-waste-grinder-death-that-should-never-have-happened</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69fd25d899e4923e7ff6637d</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 01:10:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_456de4feabd740d2a5a97f53585d0dad~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Aged Care Facility Fire: Emergency Planning Has to Work for the People Least Able to Save Themselves]]></title><description><![CDATA[Aged care emergency planning is one of those areas where the paperwork can look clean while the actual operational risk remains brutal. A facility may have evacuation diagrams, warden lists, emergency procedures and training records, but none of that means much if the system does not work for residents who cannot reliably hear, understand, remember, follow instructions or self-evacuate under pressure. I was involved, in my former role as an inspector, in reviewing an aged care facility fire...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/aged-care-facility-fire-emergency-planning-has-to-work-for-the-people-least-able-to-save-themselves</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69fae6c8cd7f99791e38cb96</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Emergency Preparedness]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 07:17:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_7b0962c7de02450f94ac4eabc62da735~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_941,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Desbo Industries Fined Over Fall Risk: The Problem Was Visible Before Anyone Hit the Ground]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Victorian residential builder has been convicted and fined after WorkSafe found contractors working more than three metres above ground level without fall protection. Desbo Industries Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on 05 Mar 26 after pleading guilty to failing to ensure a workplace under its management and control was safe and without risks to health. The company was fined $40,000 and ordered to pay $4,422 in costs. The facts are not complex, which is exactly why...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/desbo-industries-fined-over-fall-risk-the-problem-was-visible-before-anyone-hit-the-ground</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69fade6acd7f99791e38c770</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><category><![CDATA[Safety Leadership]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 06:39:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_8d737688bdb048698c7b2af56ede2ef3~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_941,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Misunderstanding above the Fireground: ATSB Report Highlights Airspace Coordination Risks]]></title><description><![CDATA[On 18 Jan 26, two aerial firefighting aircraft operating west of Mount Hotham, Victoria came significantly closer than intended during active fire suppression operations. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has now released its findings into the occurrence involving Bell 212 helicopter Helitak 368 and fixed wing fire bomber Bomber 359, identifying breakdowns in communication, situational awareness and supervisory coordination as central contributing factors. The incident did not result in...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/misunderstanding-above-the-fireground-atsb-report-highlights-airspace-coordination-risks</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69fad4c6cd7f99791e38c42b</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 06:10:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_e0cf62129b3d48feb5fb5985333b5a3b~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When The Response Becomes The Hazard]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Human And Financial Cost Of Reactive Safety Management Photo by Joe Dudeck on Unsplash An allegation is made against a worker. The allegation is investigated, the available evidence is considered and the finding is that it cannot be substantiated on the balance of probabilities. That should establish the position unless credible new evidence emerges. Instead, a customer or senior manager rejects the outcome, demands that somebody be punished and starts applying commercial pressure to have...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/when-the-response-becomes-the-hazard</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a541edd6c2bae2e2794046f</guid><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><category><![CDATA[Safety Leadership]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_78dfa9b3f5724f2e92eadb8a9f763042~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Gravity Is Not a Control Measure]]></title><description><![CDATA[The recent District Court outcome in NSW, where $250,000 in combined fines were ordered against a skydiving operator and its sole director following a double fatality, is not a “high-risk industry” curiosity. It is a straight application of duty, risk, and control failure. The hazard was a modified aircraft step that introduced a snag point. The failure was allowing that condition to exist without engineering assurance, inspection, or an effective control set. The consequence was fatal. There...]]></description><link>https://www.safetyjon.com.au/post/gravity-is-not-a-control-measure</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e897cde7eb043b29903cc3</guid><category><![CDATA[Incident Insights]]></category><category><![CDATA[Workplace Safety]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:56:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01bdba_8d8f959747ae4c16ae8abc079af5de7b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_578,h_427,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Safety Jon</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>