Lead Work Health and Safety from the inside of Australia’s national Work Health and Safety policy body.

Safe Work Australia is looking for an experienced and pragmatic senior work health and safety professional to take ownership of our agency-wide work health and safety function.

This is a unique opportunity to lead work health and safety, injury management, rehabilitation and workplace wellbeing within the national policy body for work health and safety and workers’ compensation.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you’ll be our senior work health and safety adviser and trusted point of contact for executives, managers and employees. You’ll have the autonomy to influence how we approach physical and psychosocial risk across the agency, while contributing more broadly to our people functions and priorities.

Working in a small agency, this is a critical EL2 role with both strategic and hands-on functions. You’ll move between strategic advice and practical delivery, providing advice to senior executives one day and coordinating case management, committee activities, reporting, contracts, programs or operational work health and safety requirements the next.

You will

- lead the agency’s work health and safety, injury management, rehabilitation and workplace wellbeing function
- provide practical, evidence-based advice on complex work health and safety matters, psychosocial risk and workplace safety
- lead complex case management and return-to-work coordination
- strengthen our work health and safety management system, policies and safety culture
- work closely with our Health and Safety Committee, Health and Safety Representatives,



First Aid Officers and Fire Wardens
- design and deliver wellbeing and psychosocial safety initiatives
- contribute to broader People Strategies work, including workforce strategy, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, policy and APS workforce reporting.

We’re looking for someone who combines robust work health and safety expertise with sound judgement, influence and a willingness to get involved in the detail. You’ll be comfortable advising at the most senior levels of the agency while also taking responsibility for the day-to-day work required to keep a small agency’s work health and safety function running effectively.

To be eligible for employment with Safe Work Australia (SWA), you must be an Australian citizen, and you will be required to successfully undergo a police record check.

The successful applicant must be able to obtain and maintain a minimum of a Baseline level security clearance or hold a current security clearance of an appropriate level. More information on the security clearance vetting process is available on the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) website.

You application will be assessed against the Australian Public Service work level standards. Prior to preparing your response it is recommended you review the relevant work level standards and Integrated Leadership System (ILS) Profile relevant to the classification you are applying to.

Following the selection process, suitable applicants may be placed in a merit pool which can be used to fill similar roles within 18 months of the vacancy being notified in the APS Gazette.

📌 Senior Work Health and Safety Advisor (Australia)
🏢 Safe Work Australia
📍 Australia