President: Yvonne Toft
Head of Department, Health & Human Performance & Senior Lecturer OHS, Central Queensland University
Email y.toft@cqu.edu.au
Yvonne's specialisation is in human factors design and systems safety, following extensive industrial experience in health, manufacturing and mining. Yvonne is passionate about optimising learning outcomes from professional practice degrees delivered in flexible modes. Her latest endeavours have been centred on peer to peer learning through the establishment of communities of practice and optimising team environments.
Vice President: Mike Capra
Mike Capra, Professor of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Queensland.
Email m.capra@uq.edu.au
Mike is a career academic having held teaching and research positions at eight universities in Australia, Fiji, NZ, and UK in positions ranging from Teaching Fellow to Professor and Head of School. His previous positions include Director of the WorkCover NSW Research Centre of Excellence and Head of the School of Health Sciences (SHS) at the University of Newcastle. Mike has considerable expertise in curriculum and course development both within universities and in the public arena. Mike continues to have a teaching and research role at the University of Queensland.
Secretary: Pam Pryor
Principal Consultant Pam Pryor and Associates and Senior Research Fellow, VIOSH Australia, University of Ballarat
Email pampryor@ppasafety.com.au
Pam has broad experience in delivery of health and safety at both the enterprise and industry levels while at the national OHS level Pam worked with the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission as a technical advisor to the OHS Skills Development Unit from 2001 to 2004. Since 2004, Pam has worked with VIOSH Australia at the University of Ballarat to develop and deliver the competency-based Certificate IV and Diploma in OHS. Under the VIOSH umbrella, Pam has also been the major writer of learning material at the Certificate IV and Diploma levels for WorkSafe Western Australia.
Through her work with the Safety Institute of Australia, Pam has influenced OHS professional education at the national level. Pam was awarded the Harold Greenwood Thomas medal by the Safety Institute of Australia for her contribution to the science of safety and to the OHS profession.
Committee Members
Colin Chua
Colin currently works at the University of Sydney. His interests include OHS auditing, OHS management systems, training, and promoting OHS awareness and education across the University. In addition to his formal qualifications of MBA,BE, Adv Dip OHS he is CPMSIA.
Mary Ditton
After twenty years as a practising psychiatrist, Mary moved into academic life at University of New England where she is a lecturer in health management. Her doctoral thesis was a workplace study of employee health and from that work, her research on the social relationships in the workplace influencing employee health has been published. At an international level she has researched occupational safety issues for agricultural workers in developing countries.
Debra Moodie-Bain
Debra is head of post graduate OHS programs at the University of Western Sydney. She is currently undertaking a PhD on the Challenges for the Australian OHS profession in a post-industrial world.
Neale Jackson
Neale is a Senior Lecturer in OHS at RMIT University, his research specialisations include safety in nanotechnology and OHS education. Neale's PhD, awarded is in the area of organic chemistry and chemical safety. He also holds a Grad Dip Education (TAFE) and Masters in Professional Education and Training, a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), a Grad Dip in Toxicology and is currently completing a Masters in Toxicology.
Stephen Thomas
A member of the SIA since 1994 with post graduate qualifications in social science, education and OHS. Stephen has 25 years as an OHS professional and has worked in the capacity of OHS advisor, senior advisor and manager in many industry sectors including state and local government, the university sector, aviation sector, defence sector and Workcover SA. He is engaged as a Senior Consultant OHSW&IM at the University of South Australia, and has his own private consulting practice. Stephen is also a visiting lecturer at Flinders University in South Australia. He is both a Chartered Fellow of the SIA and IOSH (UK) and a Specialist Fellow of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management. He currently holds positions as the National Secretary, National Technical Panel Member (Nanotechnology Contact) and SA Division Management Committee Member. He was also President of the SA Division 2005-2007.
Stewart Ralf
Currently employed as the Compliance Manager Construction by FKP Construction in Queensland, Stewart's background has centered mostly in high rise construction projects spending many years in tower cranes, rigging and scaffolding. He has been an industry trainer/assessor and course developer for CSTC (Qld) and was a senior OHS consultant for CSTC to industry and representative on national and state-based industry committees for the development of training and assessment in prescribed occupations.
Phil Wadick
Phil Wadick is studying for his PhD through Monash University. He is seeking to understand how workers perceive OHS at work, and the implications for OHS training for the workplace. He is very interested in listening to the voices of the workers who are affected by injuries and diseases.