Celebrating the Champions of Safety: Victoria 2026 Winners

The future of workplace health and safety isn’t being built by policies alone. It’s being shaped by passionate leaders who challenge the status quo, inspire change, and put people at the centre of everything they do.

At the Workplace Health & Safety Show Victoria 2026, we were proud to celebrate two outstanding professionals whose work is making a tangible difference across Australian workplaces. From transforming compliance into confidence to creating nationwide engagement in safety culture, these Champions of Safety are proving that innovation and people-first leadership go hand in hand.

Aaron Nauta: Turning Compliance into Confidence

For Aaron Nauta, workplace safety has always been about one thing: people.

His nomination recognised his commitment to making workplace safety compliance easier, more engaging, and genuinely practical through innovative training programs and compliance systems. But Aaron’s vision extends far beyond ticking boxes.

His mission is to help organisations build real confidence in emergency response, workplace safety, and compliance management — empowering teams to act decisively when it matters most.

“I’ve always believed that safety is about people,” Aaron says. “Seeing workplaces genuinely prepared to respond in an emergency motivated me to find even better ways to track, support, and empower their teams.”

That philosophy has had a significant impact. Aaron has helped thousands of people develop life-saving skills while making compliance easier for organisations of all sizes. More importantly, he’s fostered a culture centred on preparedness, confidence, and shared responsibility.

One of the biggest challenges he faced was changing perceptions around safety training.

“Many people see training as a box-ticking exercise,” he explains. “We focused on engagement, practical learning, and creating experiences people genuinely remember and apply.”

This people-first approach, combined with tools that simplify compliance tracking, has helped organisations shift from simply meeting requirements to embedding safety into everyday operations.

Receiving the Champions of Safety Award is, for Aaron, both an honour and a responsibility.

“It validates the impact we’re making and inspires me to continue raising the standard of safety education and workplace compliance.”

His advice to others is simple but powerful:

“Start with people and lead by example. Listen, educate, and focus on creating a culture where safety is everyone’s responsibility.”

Daniel Nicholls: Making Safety Visible, Engaging and Meaningful

When Daniel Nicholls joined Quayclean Australia, he quickly realised that traditional safety programs wouldn’t be enough.

Working with a diverse national workforce made up of students, multicultural teams, and employees with varying levels of safety experience, Daniel knew safety needed to be accessible, relatable, and engaging.

That insight led to the creation of Safetember — Quayclean’s month-long national safety and wellbeing campaign.

Throughout September 2025, Safetember delivered 42 live safety sessions across Australia, bringing together employees, clients, suppliers, and industry experts to explore topics ranging from ergonomics and hazard management to mental health, leadership, and technology.

The results were remarkable.

The initiative engaged 1,697 viewers nationwide, delivered 224 toolbox talks — a 22% increase on the previous month — and concluded with zero lost time injuries across Quayclean’s cleaning workforce.

But for Daniel, the true success of Safetember wasn’t measured in numbers alone.

“We wanted to move beyond compliance and create something people genuinely connected with,” he says. “When safety is visible, consistent, and engaging every day, it drives meaningful cultural change.”

Daniel’s approach has always been grounded in authenticity. Rather than leading from behind a desk, he spends time alongside frontline teams, building trust, understanding challenges, and demonstrating safe practices firsthand.

This approach has been particularly important in overcoming barriers such as language differences, varying levels of safety literacy, and entrenched risk-tolerant behaviours.

“Safety messaging needed to be simplified and focused on behaviours everyone could relate to,” he explains. “Showing real-life examples and practical solutions helps people understand why safety matters.”

Winning the Champions of Safety Award was a proud moment — not just personally, but for the entire Quayclean team.

“Safety is never achieved by one individual,” Daniel says. “It’s the result of collective effort from frontline employees, leaders, customers, suppliers, and safety professionals all working towards the same goal.”

His advice to fellow safety professionals?

“Focus on engagement, not just compliance. Listen to your workforce, involve them in solutions, and create opportunities for meaningful participation.”

Celebrating the People Shaping Safer Workplaces

The Champions of Safety Awards exist to recognise the individuals and organisations pushing workplace health and safety forward.

Aaron Nauta, Daniel Nicholls and Siusan MacKenzie are outstanding examples of what is possible when safety is driven by purpose, innovation, and a genuine commitment to people.

Their stories remind us that safety isn’t simply about compliance. It’s about creating environments where people feel empowered, supported, and protected — every single day.

Congratulations again to Aaron and Daniel on being recognised as Champions of Safety at the Workplace Health & Safety Show Victoria 2026.

Champions of Safety Awards is proudly sponsored by Safety Champions Software.

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