In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis wrap up Season 6 and the theme of SFAIRP complexities. Key season highlights they revisit: Three essential components of SFAIRP: "As Far", "As Is", and “Reasonably Practicable”,Confusion around hierarchy of controls, Contradictions between WHS Legislation (OHS Act in Victoria) and planning and safety law.Watch out for 2026 for Season 7. For further information on Richard and Gaye...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the two types of Regulators. They outline two fundamentally different regulatory philosophies: regulators who view prosecutions as a measure of success versus those who see them as a measure of failure. The discussion examines how the "so far as is reasonably practicable" (SFAIRP) framework has shifted the burden of proof, making it harder for some regulators to secure convict...

In this special episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss psychosocial hazards in the workplace and the newly introduced Victorian Occupational Health and Safety (Psychosocial Health) Regulations 2025, which came into effect on 1 December. They explain that the new regulations largely re-states existing Occupational Health and Safety legislation requirements to identify, eliminate, and reduce such hazards as far as reasonably...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis break down the concept of SFAIRP "So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable" into three key parts: "So Far", "As Is", and "Reasonably Practicable". This was one of their key take-aways from their recent Live Forum where lawyer Joseph Coleiro articulated the following: "So Far" refers to the notion of doing as much as possible to address a risk, rather than just meeting a target level of ris...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss Formal Safety Assessments. Key highlights include: A Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) is meant to provide a logical and reasoned argument that can withstand legal scrutiny.Formal Safety Assessments should identify the critical issues of concern, the current controls in place, and the further practical controls that could be considered, as well as the reasoning for implemen...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis revisit the topic of Safety Culture. They review the work of Professor Patrick Hudson, who identified five levels of safety culture, from pathological (who cares as long as we're not caught) to generative (safety is how we do business around here). Richard and Gaye observe that many organisations tend to be more reactive, focusing on implementing controls after incidents occur, rather...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss Could vs Should in Workplace Safety. (Thanks Nick for your email, case reference and questions.) They explore the critical distinction between what "could" have been done versus what "should" have been done in workplace safety, sparked by the SKM Services case against Magistrates Courts of Victoria, and discuss how experts often use hindsight to determine what could have preve...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the complications of Safety Legislation & Planning Law. Drawing on their extensive experience across multiple Australian jurisdictions—including Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and federal government projects—Richard and Gaye discuss the challenges engineers and designers face when navigating competing legislative requirements. They examine why Work Health an...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss Safe Work Australia's review of the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act & Regulations, and R2A’s submission response. Key points include: Contradictions between the WHS legislation, regulations, and common law requirements, particularly for designers and engineers. Concerns around the hierarchy of controls and how they are interpreted by regulators.Inconsist...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis answer a listener’s question on the Pressures of Rail Safety National Law and the SFAIRP Approach. They explain how WHS/OHS legislation takes precedence over the Rail Safety National Law, clarify the "no double jeopardy" principle, and discuss how Australia's federal system led to harmonised rail safety legislation. Their discussion also covers: The SFAIRP (So Far As Is Reasonably Pra...

In this first episode of Season 6 of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the pressures and complexities different stakeholders are having with SFAIRP They follow on from the theme of Season 5, “Difficult Conversations Engineers Need to Have”, how it generated discussions and comments, and determined holding an in person event with speakers from different perspectives and professional backgrounds - a lawyer, an architect, and two e...

In this special episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis preview their upcoming live forum event on "Preventing Criminal Manslaughter - Understanding & Implementing SFAIRP (So Far As Reasonably Practicable)". The event will feature presentations from a lawyer, Joseph Coleiro, and an architect, Dr. Frank Stoks, along with the hosts Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis, with the focus on exploring the legal obligations and prac...

In this final episode of Season 5, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis conclude their theme of difficult conversations engineers need to have as well as discuss Engineering for Communities. They explore how engineering should focus on improving rather than maintaining the status quo, and the concerning trend of engineers being sidelined in critical decision-making processes. The discussion includes: How councils and planning decisions have become "de-engineered"The...

In this episode of "Risk! Engineers Talk Governance," due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis revisit the fundamentals of engineering due diligence in response to listener feedback about confusion between risk, assurance and diligence. The discussion covers how R2A became specialised in due diligence engineering through their expert witness work, where they learned that due diligence serves as a defense against negligence with two key components: having reasonable control in...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis tackle the growing problem of organisational silos and their impact on due diligence and explore how siloed thinking undermines efforts across various domains—from safety, projects and regulatory compliance. Drawing from decades of industry experience, Richard traces the evolution of risk engineering. They then discuss the need for integrating expertise across the entire organisation ...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss why effective due diligence arguments need to be relevant, reasoned, and concise. They share their frustrations with overly complex safety documentation that fails to deliver clear, defensible arguments, and explain why safety cases should be brief yet comprehensive enough to stand up to legal scrutiny. Drawing from their extensive experience as expert witnesses an...

In this episode, of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis revisit the distinction between SFAIRP (So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable) and Target Levels of Risk and Safety. They explain how target levels of risk continue to be problematic in engineering despite being legally unsupportable under WHS/OHS legislation and share examples of regulators and engineers still using outdated approaches and discuss why this confusion persists, p...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineering experts Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss why Standards are not the solution. They explore why following Standards can be problematic, outlining key issues: 1. Using Standards out of context; 2. There’s no explanation for rationales; 3. They don’t cover all things; and 4. They are often lagging indicators. They share a n...

In this episode of "Risk! Engineers Talk Governance," due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss Insurance Criteria and its history and modern relevance, particularly focusing on the Highly Protected Risk (HPR) engineering process. Richard shares his experience training with Factory Mutual in the US and explains how the HPR approach originated in the 1840s with Zacharia Allen, a cotton mill owner who re-engineered his facility to minimise fire risks. When his insurance ...

In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss: How to prevent catastrophic project blowouts. They discuss the three key considerations when undertaking project due diligence and preventing catastrophic project blowouts as: Ensure your scope is right, have identified your critical success outcomes are and all key stakeholders understand what the prize is and agree. Undertake a completeness check of threats. ...