Staffing in SafeWork SA’s compliance and enforcement unit will be boosted to an all-time high with a recruitment drive for an additional 32 FTE of officers and specialist staff.
The frontline workforce will be expanded to include an extra 17 Inspectors, three Investigators and three technical advisers. A further nine staff will also be appointed to assist the work of the Inspectorate and Investigation teams.
These roles include a social worker to support families who have lost someone through a workplace death as well as staff to manage the daily notifications of workplace incidents and provide safety information to businesses and workers.
This comes on top of extra resourcing provided to the safety regulator through the State Government and brings the total number of SafeWork SA compliance staff to 138 FTE.
“SafeWork SA is visiting more work sites more often and the additional resources will help us to increase our presence and better manage complex investigations,” said SafeWork SA Executive Director, Glenn Farrell.
“The extra resources will also play an important role as we undertake numerous campaigns over the next 12 months targeting the industries where the greatest harm occurs.
“This significant up-lift to our workforce is welcomed, enabling us to do more with more to prevent harm across the State.
“The high number of prosecutions in 2024-25 reflects the hard work of our Inspectors and Investigators and our commitment to holding businesses that fail to adequately provide safe working conditions to account,” he said.
Meanwhile, SafeWork has launched six major compliance campaigns targeting industries which are at greatest risk of workplace harm. These include Agriculture, Construction, Manufacturing, Transport, Forestry and Healthcare.
Over the next 12 months, the campaigns will include site visits and compliance audits to detect and deter unsafe workplace behaviour.
The campaigns coincide with SafeWork SA increasing its presence on South Australian worksites. The agency recorded 7,715 site visits and issued 5,238 statutory notices in 2024-25 – up from 6,813 site visits in 2023-24 and included more than 3,400 proactive visits not prompted by notifications.
At the same time, 3,745 notifications were received, encompassing workplace incidents, complaints, requests for assistance in issue resolution, disputes, and matters raised by Health and Safety Representatives and Entry Permit Holders to assist workplaces. This figure was up from 3,460 notifications received in 2023-24.
SafeWork SA also secured the highest number of convictions for breaches to workplace safety laws in more than 10 years, with a total of 18 convictions achieved in the South Australian Employment Tribunal in 2024-25 delivering record fines totalling $2.37 million.
SafeWork SA is committed to working with businesses to reduce workplace hazards. The Agency offers a free advisory service to businesses seeking to improve WHS in their workplace. Call 1300 365 255 to book a site visit while SafeWork SA’s website has comprehensive information to help businesses be compliant.
