Safety reporting culture at ground handling organisation

Thank you for raising this report. We acknowledge and appreciate the aim of the REPCON scheme to provide organisations with the opportunity to review safety management systems and assess if there are any areas that may be improved.

We take safety reporting very seriously and have reviewed the report with our focus on this objective.

In our response, we would like to concentrate on our Just Culture framework, which is fundamental to the safety of our people.

Safety reports in aviation ground handling occur when workers are encouraged to proactively identify possible risks either before they occur or once an incident has taken place. Mature safety cultures prioritise proactive hazard and near-miss reporting, enabling organisations to learn and mitigate risks before incidents occur.

Culturally, we encourage all our workforce to lodge safety reports, however minor, as part of a rigorous safety-first culture. This proactive approach captures thousands of observations monthly, including competitor operations, airline procedures at specific airports, and internal activities.

Our safety-first culture has resulted in achieving one of the strongest safety records of any aviation ground handler in Australia and can be evidenced through the following: 

• Our leadership team maintains daily engagement with our safety department on reported safety matters, with daily scheduled consultation on emerging issues, trends, and concerns identified through our reporting system. This ensures that safety information is actively reviewed, learnings are shared within our domestic operations, priorities are aligned, and timely action is taken to address risks.
• The organisation has weekly safety reporting expectations that encourage active participation from our people to support the early identification of hazards, risks, and opportunities. Several sites consistently perform above the established reporting expectations, providing evidence of strong employee engagement and confidence in the organisation’s safety reporting processes.
• The organisation's reporting system is modern and designed to strengthen accountability, support informed decision-making, and reinforce the organisation's commitment to protecting people, operations, and long-term performance.
• During training and in our day-to-day operations, the organisation fosters a reporting culture supported by a just culture, where individuals are not subject to punitive action for reporting or involvement in safety occurrences (excluding cases of wilful misconduct).
• Proven evidence demonstrating self-reporting of errors, hazards, and near misses, which reflects confidence in the organisation's just culture and commitment to learning rather than blame. Open reporting enables the timely identification of risks, supports effective corrective action, and strengthens overall safety performance.
• The organisation recognises that where employees are reluctant to report errors, hazards, or near misses, or fear punitive treatment for their involvement in safety occurrences, there may be a reduced willingness to cooperate openly in safety investigations. This can limit the identification of underlying causes, impede organisational learning, and weaken the effectiveness of risk management and continuous safety improvement. It is in the organisation's best interest to collaborate with our workforce to exercise continual improvement.
• As an organisation that holds ISO 45001 accreditation, it provides a globally recognised framework for systematically managing occupational health and safety risks. Accreditation demonstrates the organisation's commitment to protecting its workforce through effective governance, risk-based decision-making, worker consultation, and continual improvement. It enables the organisation to address cultural and systemic issues proactively and strengthen trust in its reporting processes.
• A trusted just culture minimises the suppression of safety information by ensuring employees have confidence that reporting safety concerns will not lead to inappropriate disciplinary or financial consequences.
• To maintain trust in our just culture, we continue to create an environment where people feel confident to speak up about safety concerns, report errors, and share information without fear of unfair consequences. This requires consistent and visible leadership, fair and transparent decision-making, and a genuine focus on learning and improvement rather than blame.
• We listen to our people, provide feedback on the issues they raise, and demonstrate that safety information is valued and acted upon through scheduled and ad hoc consultation. We aim for an organisation built on confidence in our reporting processes and ensure people feel supported when they contribute to safety improvement.