Caption: Safe Work Australia CEO Marie Boland speaking at the Agency’s Research Summit in September.
Collaboration and consensus
Held on 9-10 September in Canberra, the Safe Work Australia Research Summit brought together 200 leaders from academia, government, unions, industry bodies and employer groups to explore current research, emerging priorities and evidence gaps in work health and safety and workers’ compensation.
At the heart of the summit was a central question:
How do we work together to design and deliver research that supports safe and healthy work?’
Participants engaged in 2 days of interactive sessions including group discussions, a question-and-answer session and a debate.
Eight interactive, focused workshops explored key WHS challenges and opportunities including:
- responding to the WHS risk of climate change
- navigating the WHS risks and opportunities of new technologies in the workplace
- translating evidence to improve return to work outcomes
- protecting workers and workplaces from hazards like chemical exposure
- understanding the role of work in supporting psychosocial health
- protecting workers from occupational lung disease
- encouraging a systems-based approach to better integrate WHS into workplaces processes, operations and decisions, and
- defining good safe work design.
To capture the richness of these discussions, artificial intelligence was used to summarise key themes in real time. Participants also contributed through a collaborative platform that encouraged them to post, respond to and “like” ideas throughout the event.
This innovative approach enabled Safe Work Australia to capture the pulse of the summit in real time, gathering comments, discussions, ideas, challenges and opportunities as they emerged across workshops and discussions.
One clear message throughout the discussions was the need for stronger collaboration and consultation across the whole research ecosystem, and a desire for more forums – like the Research Summit – to collectively discuss WHS and workers’ compensation research and priorities.
‘The summit’s legacy will be in the connections made and the shared understanding of how we can work together to deliver better health and safety outcomes for workers across Australia.’
The Research Summit by numbers
- 198 attendees from academia, government, regulators, unions, and industry and employer groups
- 64 speakers presented across the 2-day event
- 186 insights and ideas relating to the summit’s theme question
- 100 minutes of facilitated large group interactive discussions
- 12 hours of collective workshops hours, 5 plenary sessions, 2 keynotes, 1 debate
- 88% of survey respondents positively rated their summit experience
- 90% of respondents agreed that Safe Work Australia demonstrated leadership in work health and safety and workers’ compensation research
- 84% felt the summit facilitated cross-sector and interdisciplinary collaboration
- 82% reported the summit got them thinking about new research ideas or directions.
Towards 2026
This evidence will help us shape future events, develop our research workplan for the coming year, and prioritise engagement with the research community for 2026. The Agency will continue to share outcomes and next steps through its communication channels.
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