Photo caption: From left to right, Professor Maureen Dollard, Professor Sally Ferguson and Luka Campbell at the Safe Work Australia Research Summit in September.
Safe Work Australia’s strong focus on research gained further momentum and visibility throughout 2025 – most notably, through the delivery of the Research and Evaluation Strategy in June and the Research Summit in September.
Evidence has always been core to the work of Safe Work Australia. Robust data and evidence help the Agency and our Members make informed decisions, meet emerging challenges and deliver practical policy outcomes to improve work health and safety (WHS) and workers’ compensation across the country.
Our strategy
Safe Work Australia’s Research and Evaluation Strategy, released in June 2025, sets the framework for the Agency’s research goals, priority workstreams and focus areas to shape the Agency’s collaboration with the wider WHS research community.
‘The national Research Summit in September and our research strategy signal a shift for Safe Work Australia – from isolated research efforts to a coordinated, national approach that supports safer, healthier workplaces for all.’
Informed by the Agency’s National Return to Work Strategy 2020-2030 and Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023-2033, the research strategy outlines a defined path to building an evidence base, coordinating data and providing clearer focus areas for the Agency’s research agenda.
‘Our research strategy sets a vision of “an engaged and connected research ecosystem”. We are focused on building lasting connections and impactful collaboration among researchers and experts across academia, regulators and government, unions, and employer and industry groups. There is a clear role for Safe Work Australia to provide national thought leadership in this space.’
Priority workstreams
To implement the strategy, Safe Work Australia will focus its efforts across 3 priority workstreams:
- Governance and Systems – that support effective research and evaluation across the Agency and nationally.
- Projects and Partnerships – to tackle persistent and emerging WHS and workers’ compensation challenges.
- Translation and Promotion – to engage critical audiences on research needs and showcase research findings.
Collaboration and engagement are central to Safe Work Australia’s work, and the initiatives under the Research and Evaluation Strategy will guide the Agency to continue investing in partnerships that align with its strategic priorities. This includes strengthening connections within the research community, fostering consensus, coordinating action on persistent and emerging challenges, and shaping a forward-looking research agenda focused on practical, actionable outcomes.
Safe Work Australia’s Research Summit, held in Canberra in September, was a pivotal moment in building consensus around persistent and emerging challenges. Delivered under the ‘Translation and Promotion’ workstream of the research strategy, the Research Summit brought together leading WHS and workers’ compensation experts, policymakers, unions and business, to examine current research, identify critical evidence gaps, and explore collaborative research that supports safe and healthy work.
The summit played a key role in advancing the Agency’s strategic goals in driving thought leadership, strengthening the national evidence base, and ensuring that research outcomes have practical value across Australian workplaces.
The Agency looks forward to delivering and participating in further research-focused events in 2026. Subscribe to our mailing list to stay updated on research and evaluation activities. For queries on Safe Work Australia’s research and evaluation activities, contact the Research Strategy team at: researchenquiries@swa.gov.au.