More than 200 health and safety representatives (HSRs) from around South Australia packed the Adelaide Pavilion earlier this month for the 2025 HSR Forum hosted by SafeWork SA in conjunction with SA Unions, the SA Business Chamber and ReturnToWorkSA.
The forum included workplace safety sessions and the presentation of the SafeWork SA HSR of the Year Award, recognising the state’s leading safety advocates.
The 2025 award was won by senior clinical nurse Fiona Noble, who took on the HRS role at Royal Adelaide Hospital in 2022.
At that time, she was the only HSR in the ICU and represented 500 nurses. Now in her second three-year term, Fiona has helped build a team of seven HSRs and deputy HSRs and still represents 110 nurses in her work group.
"Now we’ve got a really good team, and we collaborate really well together. It’s about making things easier rather than harder when issues come up," Fiona says.
"It can be a high-stress environment and that’s when it can become rewarding because when people are busy, that’s when mistakes can happen so it’s just a matter of reminding people to slow it down sometimes and it could be the difference between having an incident and avoiding one."
The primary role of a HSR is to represent a work group on work health and safety (WHS) matters through ongoing consultation and cooperation between workers and management.
It is a voluntary role within a workplace, however HSRs are entitled to undertake training and perform their functions within work time.
Fiona, who has been nursing for more than 20 years and has worked at the old and new RAH since 2015, says being a HSR has allowed her to develop skills in communication and working collaboratively with others, including management.
"These are things I never thought I would be doing as a nurse. As a HSR you are using a different form of communication and I have learnt so much," she says.
"It excites me, the broad range of things you do. It’s different in every scenario you deal with and approaching people.
"You can get a lot out of it, but you also have to be dedicated – you have to really want to do it.
"It’s rewarding and it’s so special to be able to make a positive difference."
Fiona says it’s a great honour to win the award and very humbling just to be nominated.
"It will give me that little bit of extra drive and a bit more incentive to keep persisting," she says.
"It will also help me show the other HSRs I work with that hard work can pay off."
Fiona was among nine finalists for the award, which was presented by SafeWork SA Executive Director Glenn Farrell (pictured right).
"HSRs play a vital role in collaborating with workers and management to make workplaces safe," Mr Farrell said.
"Fiona’s commitment to her HSR role in such a critical workplace environment is impressive and thoroughly deserving of this award."
The HSR of the Year Award and HSR Forum are key pillars of the HSR Strategy, developed in conjunction with the SafeWork SA Advisory Committee following recommendations arising from the 2022 Independent Review of SafeWork SA.
The Strategy aims to increase the number and the support for existing HSRs in South Australia, to help them fulfil their critical role.
There are about 5000 HSRs in South Australia across all industries.
This article was prepared by SafeWork SA and is republished here with permission.
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS
