The Safety Dept. was built for growing businesses that need professional WHS management, but don’t need to employ an entire internal safety team.
Our story
Large organisations have safety managers, advisors, coordinators and admin support keeping safety moving every day.
Most small and medium businesses don’t.
But the work doesn’t go away just because there’s no one in-house to do it.
The Safety Dept. was created to fill that gap.
We give growing businesses a working safety department, without them having to build one themselves.
Every business needs a safety function.
Not every business needs to employ one.
Our approach
Good safety isn’t about more paperwork.
It’s about making sure the right things actually happen.
Safety needs someone looking after it.
Registers need updating. Actions need tracking. Responsibilities need to stay clear. Safety can’t be set up once and forgotten.
Safety should fit the business.
We build practical systems around your people, your sites and the way the work actually gets done.
Safety belongs inside the business.
We work alongside owners, managers and supervisors so safety becomes part of everyday work, not something off to the side.
You should always know where things stand.
What’s happening, what’s outstanding and what needs attention, without having to become the safety expert yourself.
Leadership
The Safety Dept. is led by Sarah-Jane Dunford, a senior WHS professional with more than 25 years’ experience helping Australian businesses manage safety in high-risk industries.
Over her career, Sarah-Jane worked with organisations that had dedicated safety managers, advisors, coordinators and support teams.
She also worked with growing businesses facing many of the same obligations, without the people to build those teams in-house.
That experience showed her what was missing.
Businesses didn’t need another consultant or another folder of documents. They needed someone to look after safety with them, week in, week out.
Sarah-Jane created The Safety Dept. to do exactly that.
Today, she leads the standards, systems and senior oversight behind every safety department we run.
25+ years
WHS experience in high-risk industries
2026 Business Woman of the Year
Recognised business leadership
Hunter Safety Awards
Founder
Riskology
Founder
NSW industry experience
Practical safety built around real operations
Read about Sarah-Jane’s 2026 Business Woman of the Year award
Who we work with
We support small and medium businesses in high-risk industries, where safety affects your people, your contracts, the day-to-day running of the business and how it grows.
Our experience includes
Construction & trades
Subcontractors, specialist trades and site-based businesses.
Civil, earthworks & infrastructure
Civil works, excavation, utilities and infrastructure contractors.
Manufacturing & industrial
Manufacturing, fabrication, engineering and industrial services.
Transport, logistics & warehousing
Fleets, freight, logistics and warehouse operations.
Mining & resources
Contractors and service businesses supporting resources.
Agriculture, land & environmental
Agriculture, forestry, landscaping, waste and environmental work.
These businesses don’t need safety theory.
They need practical safety that works around real people, plant, sites, deadlines and the pressure of getting the job done.
Next step
As your people, sites, contracts and work change, your safety needs change with them.
That’s why we stay involved.
You get experienced people, practical structure and ongoing support to keep safety moving, while you keep the business moving.
You run the work. We keep the safety side running with it.
