Safetysure is pleased to announce that its Director and Principal Consultant, John Ninness, has been appointed as a Member of the newly established Governing Board of Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) for a four-year term commencing 1 July 2026.
The Board has been established following recommendations from the independent review of Queensland’s resources safety and health regulatory framework led by University of Queensland Professor Susan Johnston and legislated through the Resources Safety and Health Queensland and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2026.
Mr Ninness joins a Board led by Chair Kellie Parker, former Chief Executive, Australia, Rio Tinto, whose career began in occupational health and safety at Rio Tinto’s Pilbara operations. Dan Hunt has been appointed as Deputy Chair, with Stephanie Pearce and Sonia Lewis appointed as fellow Members. The Board will work alongside RSHQ Acting Chief Executive Officer Claire Cooper.
Mr Ninness acknowledged the appointment by Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last and said he was honoured to contribute to improving work safety outcomes within Queensland’s resources sector.
“I have spent more than 30 years working in environments where the consequences of regulatory failure could be measured in lives, injuries and diseases. That experience has taught me that effective safety regulation is not a bureaucratic function, it is a moral obligation to the workforce and community it exists to protect,” Mr Ninness said.
“The Johnston Review provided an important opportunity to strengthen Queensland’s resources safety framework. The Board’s role is governance, oversight and setting strategic direction, ensuring accountability and providing the independent leadership that RSHQ needs to deliver real safety outcomes for resource workers. I am personally committed to ensuring the Board hears from workers, their representatives and industry, because ultimately this is about the people who go to work every day in Queensland’s mines, quarries and energy operations, and the families waiting for them to come home.
“I look forward to working with my fellow Board members and with the RSHQ executive team to shape a regulator that has the confidence of workers, industry and the broader community because ultimately, this is about the people who go to work every day in Queensland’s mines, quarries and energy operations, and the families waiting for them to come home.”
Mr Ninness brings more than 30 years of experience in work health and safety across the mining, defence, manufacturing and government sectors, including a past tenure at the Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station (SIMTARS). He is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
As Director and Principal Consultant of Safetysure, Mr Ninness leads a Brisbane-based work health and safety consultancy operating across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.
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