Key Takeaways
| Compliance-led safety has delivered enormous gains in Australia, including an 83% reduction in fatal injury rates in WA since the late 1980s, but the improvement curve has flattened. |
| The “safety cop” model worked when the problem was recklessness and ignorance. It stalls when the problem is drift inside competent teams. |
| The next gains belong to operational leaders who know their critical risks, communicate them in the language of today, and influence consistently, not just during audits or after incidents. |
| Compliance is the legal floor. Competence is the destination. You can enforce compliance; competence has to be built. |
