Honesty Zone

Why I am writing this blog

I have spent years working as a safety professional in high risk environments.

Not from the sidelines. Inside the system. Sitting in meetings where everyone nods, signs off, and moves on.

I have written the policies.

Built the systems.

Watched organisations pass audits and still fail people.

That experience changes how you see safety.

It teaches you that most WHS failures are not caused by a lack of knowledge. They are caused by avoidance. Hard conversations delayed. Risk accepted quietly. Assumptions made about who is accountable.

This blog is where I step out from behind formal reports and speak more honestly about what I see.

I will share professional insights, but also personal reflections. Moments where I have questioned decisions. Situations that did not sit right. Lessons learned the hard way about leadership, power, silence, and responsibility.

As a safety professional, I know how easy it is to hide behind process.

As a consultant, I see how often systems are designed to protect organisations, not people.

As someone who works closely with executives and boards, I see the pressure points where good intent breaks down.

Here is what this blog will focus on:

• The gap between WHS systems on paper and how work actually happens

• Psychosocial risk as a lived experience, not a compliance exercise

• What it feels like to carry safety advice that is heard but not acted on

• How due diligence really plays out when decisions get uncomfortable

• The ethical tension safety professionals live with but rarely name

This is not a personal diary. It is a professional reckoning.

Everything here is grounded in Australian WHS law and recognised standards, but written from inside the work, not above it. I will challenge ideas I once accepted. I will call out practices I used to defend. And I will be honest about where I am still learning.

If you are a safety professional who has ever felt the weight of responsibility without the authority to change outcomes, you will recognise yourself here.

If you are a leader reading this, expect uncomfortable questions.

That is intentional.

This blog is where I think out loud, reflect critically, and push the conversation forward.

Because safety deserves more than polished language.

It deserves honesty.