About OHSA | Safety Training & WHS Experts Australia

Australia’s Trusted Partner in Safety Training & Compliance

OHSA Occupational Health Services Australia, a trusted partner in safety training & compliance, is a leading provider of workplace health and safety (WHS) training and consulting services across Australia. We deliver nationally recognised safety training, practical compliance solutions, and industry-ready education for professionals working in mining, construction, infrastructure, and high-risk environments.

Our focus is simple: help people work safer, meet compliance obligations, and build real-world capability that stands up on site.

Our Founder & Leadership

OHSA Occupational Health Services Australia was founded by our Managing Director, Mr Simon Phillips, alongside his wife, Tracey.

Simon grew up in the Victorian Mallee, raised on a sheep and wheat farm near the rural town of Patchewollock. At 17, he moved to Melbourne to pursue a professional AFL football career with Carlton. While sport was an important chapter of his early life, Simon ultimately focused on his academic and professional development.

He completed a degree in Allied Health, studying in both Melbourne and Adelaide, and went on to work within major healthcare institutions. This foundation led him to Queensland, where he joined the Workers’ Compensation Board of Queensland as a rehabilitation therapist, supporting injured workers through recovery and return-to-work programs.

Recognising the broader impact of workplace safety, Simon pursued further tertiary studies in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and secured a role as a Safety Consultant with the National Safety Council of Australia (NSCA).

Over the following eight years, Simon worked across Australia and internationally, delivering workplace health and safety solutions across a wide range of industries — including mining, construction, manufacturing, logistics, and infrastructure.

Our Story

While volunteering in Brisbane with a youth guidance program supporting at-risk young people, Simon met Tracey, a Queensland local born and raised in Nambour.

Following the birth of their first daughter (they now have four), Simon and Tracey decided it was time for a new chapter. In 2002, they founded their own safety consultancy business from under their home in Shorncliffe, Brisbane — a decision that would become the foundation of OHSA.

With the support of an exceptional team and strong client partnerships, OHSA has grown into one of Australia’s most respected and awarded WHS consulting and safety training organisations.

Growth, Recognition & Industry Impact

Since its establishment, OHSA has delivered workplace health and safety consulting and training services across virtually every industry sector in Australia.

Our people have been engaged in:

• Major national and international projects
• Complex WHS compliance programs
• High-risk operational environments
• Long-term organisational safety improvements

This work has contributed to OHSA receiving numerous industry awards, project acknowledgements, and client recognitions, reflecting both the quality of our work and the trust placed in us by industry leaders.

Community & Global Impact

While we take pride in helping our clients achieve strong, sustainable safety outcomes, we are equally proud of the community and humanitarian projects we have been privileged to support.

Through our work — and with the support of our clients — OHSA has contributed to:

• The construction of orphanages internationally
• Support programs for railway children in India
• The installation of clean water wells in developing regions
• The funding of childcare centres and teachers’ housing in Africa
• Long-term support of a community food bank, providing hundreds of meals each week for over five years
• Assistance to organisations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation and other charitable initiatives

We sincerely thank our clients for making this possible. A portion of the work we do together enables us to give back — locally and globally — and create positive change beyond the workplace.

Awards & Recognition

• Placed 82nd on BRW’s Fast 100 list for 2012.
• Winner of the 2009 Excellence Award for the QLD Community Safety Awards, RTO for 2007
• Mining Industry Skills Centre QLD Best Training Processes & Practices of the Year: – Large Company RTO for 2006
• Mining Industry Skills Centre, QLD Metalliferous Trainee of the Year Award, Health Promotions RTO for 2006
• Mining Industry Skills Centre QLD Coal Employer of the Year
• Winner of the 2009 Excellence Award for the QLD Community Safety Awards RTO for 2006
• Mining Industry Skills Centre QLD Coal Employer of the Year
• Winner of the 2009 Excellence Award for the QLD Community Safety Awards presented by the Minister of Community Safety: – August 26th, 2009 at Parliament House
• Qld Global Winner of Volvo/Mack Best Corporate Health Program 2009 Awarded in September 2009 in Sweden.

Projects

• Invited to convene Safety Conference for Forestry Industry in Marysville, Vic, 2017 due to recent spate of fatalities.
• Engaged by an Emergency Services Organisation as a consultant for the selection of Defibrillators.
• Selected by an Ambulance Services Organisation as a subject matter expert for the selection of power-assisted ambulance stretchers.
• Invited presenter for the Australian Government Funded Pilot Program ‘Resources Connect’ to assist Australian suppliers to improve business capabilities within the mining and energy sectors and enhance their global competitiveness.
• Requested the Chinese Embassy in Canberra to personally meet the Chinese Delegation from Fujian Province, ranging from Vice Mayor, Directors, Deputy Directors, Division Chiefs, Vice Divisional Chiefs, to discuss current and emerging Australian OH&S, Mining methodologies
• Invited to Hong Kong to speak to Chinese heads of industry, government & academia about OH&S and Mining / Construction;
• Engaged to review Brazilian Embraer Jets in Toronto, Canada, for Virgin Blue Airlines;
• Engaged to review of F1/11 Fighter Jet Fuel Tank Entry Project Amberley;
• Awarded Minister’s Award of Excellence, August 2009, by the Community Services Minister in Queensland. Parliament for the Development of a risk management system for the Queensland Emergency Services Department;
• Invited by the Department of Mines & Energy and Queensland Mining Council to present independent human factors research about Moura disaster and Gas Protocol recommendations;
• Selected to provide advice on the introduction of Belaz Mining Rear Dump Trucks into Bowen Basin;
• Engaged by the Federal Australian Air Services Authority to assist in developing Systems & provide Training to Manage Projects & Contractors for an over $1B infrastructure rollout. Delivered to Project Managers throughout Australia. Subsequently, engaged to develop a site supervisor training program.
• Engaged to develop Risk Management Facilitation Workshop for $ the $500M Coal Handling Preparation Plant in Central Queensland.
• Selected to investigate patient fatalities by an emergency services organisation;
• Selected as International Human Factors Expert to Investigate Queensland Rail’s near-miss train disaster at Umolo, Rockhampton – selected by both State and Federal Transport Departments as the Independent Australian Human Factors Expert;
• Selected to develop & project manage the Review, Development & Implementation of Queensland Rail’s Medical Fitness Standards, which became benchmark for New National Standards;
• Requested to assist in the development of a new loss control management system after the fatal explosion disaster at Porgera Mine – Papua New Guinea;
• Selected as an independent international expert adjudicator from a wide range of Australian & International risk management consultants to assist the Industrial Relations Commissioner to independently validate the safety systems of the largest public transportation group in Queensland;
• Engaged to develop and deliver Accident Investigation, Risk Management / JSA, Drug and Alcohol, Take 5, Injury Management, Safety Officer / Representative and Manual Handling programs for one of the largest coal ports in Australia;
• Conducted an extensive plant access/egress study for a mining client with engineering recommendations;
• Selected by Queensland Fire & Rescue Authority to project manage the selection and design of the new medium urban pumper fire appliances;
• Part-Time Lecturer and Visiting Lecturer at a number of Universities.
• Keynote and guest speaker at numerous safety conferences.
• Frequently commissioned by various leading legal firms as an expert witness for personal injury tort claims and safety management system compliance;
• Selected to investigate whole-body vibration and other matters of Queensland Rail’s high-speed tilt-train.
• Selected to develop new shift-work schedules for a public sector maritime client;
• Conducted 1000s of manual handling risk assessments over the past 22 years and developed numerous award-winning programs for manual handling / ergonomic risks.
• Engaged regularly by the court to provide expert evidence for manual handling injuries.
• Conducted 100’s of whole body vibration monitoring assessments, including post-incident and OEM vs. OEM;
• Selected to review and select life rescue equipment and patient handling equipment for an emergency services client;
• Provided dust and noise monitoring with the desalination plant project;
• Developed traffic flow management plan for Mt Whaleback, BHP Newman – WA;
• Introduced a no-lift manual handling patient risk management system into RBH, RPA, Calvary Health Tasmania, NT Health, Aboriginal Hostels Ltd., and over 100 other hospital and aged care facilities and numerous universities and TAFE colleges throughout Australia;
• Reviewed work at heights requirements for the power transmission client in response to DWPH&S notice;
• Assisted with the design and conducted a pre-commission audit for a 50,000m2 distribution warehouse;
• Assisting the Construction Company in implementing procedures and training staff for the Office of Federal Safety Accreditation.

Witness Cases

• Arm injury from picking up automotive parts.
• Shoulder injury from lifting a truck flywheel.
• Perilymph fistula injury whilst performing forceful exertion.
• Shoulder injury from pushing trolleys.
• Chemical burns and nerve damage due to a battery explosion.
• Back injury in the spray painting booth.
• Luggage handling injury with baggage handlers.
• Injury from pushing aircraft mobile walkways.
• Hand-arm vibration injury using vibrating hand tools.
• Shoulder injury whilst shopping in a women’s department store.
• Slip in the toilet at the public hospital.
• Injury sustained while transferring a wheelchair user into the aircraft.
• Fall down the steps at the hotel.
• Back injury from lifting disabled children.
• Ankle injury while stepping out of the bus.
• Foot injury from stepping on a platform.
• Back and pelvis injury from falling off scaffolding.
• Compression injuries from trench collapse.
• Heat stress from tower/pole climbing.
• Shoulder injury while operating a forklift.
• Back injury from turning metal rails.
• Slip around the hotel pool.
• Trip on the hotel path at night.
• Collapsed vertebrae whilst driving a truck.
• Shoulder injury to the dogman slinging the load.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder occurred when a security guard was assaulted on a train platform.
• Disc injury due to whole-body vibration.
• Fall in a public place on polished floors.
• Fall in a hospital shower.
• Hand injury with an unguarded plant.
• Back injury from lifting a manhole cover.
• Back injury from lifting a piano.
• Trip and fall from a bus.
• Wrist injury sustained while performing assigned duties.
• Carpal tunnel injury handling chickens.
• Back injury from lifting a steel carton.
• Knee injury stepping off a pallet truck.
• Back injury from pushing a pallet jack.
• Neck injury to meat slicers in abattoirs.
• Back injury unloading a 40ft container.
• Fractured pelvis from falling from scaffolding.
• Trip on the pool carpet in serviced apartments.
• Back injury to a cleaner lifting garbage bags.
• Slip, trip and fall from a mobile home.
• Fall from a domestic building.
• Slip in the workplace toilet.
• Back injury whilst driving a forklift.
• Back injury from falling from a chair in the corrective services facility.