Conference 2026

Navigating Dangerous Goods regulation in NSW is increasingly challenging for both the regulator and duty holders as technological change and evolving operating models outpace traditional regulatory frameworks. Drawing on sector trends and de-identified case examples, this session will identify where duty holders commonly struggle and where regulators and industry can collaborate to strengthen the prevention of fire and explosion events.

Michèle Strömquist is a dedicated safety professional with over 20 years of experience. Currently a State Inspector with SafeWork NSW, in the Major Hazard Facilities Team.
Michèle has led many state-wide projects working to improve the safety of the storage and handling of dangerous goods as well as complex investigations into chemical incidents. Michèle has contributed to workplace safety in her roles with the NSW Police Force and Fire and Rescue NSW.

In various Australian Standards dealing with the storage and handling of chemicals, “protected places” are protected against the consequences of risks related to the relevant chemical (e.g. radiant heat in AS 1940 or exposure to a toxic gas, chlorine, in AS2927).

Generally, the intent is to protect people. This may be to protect places which, if affected, may have a subsequent effect on people, (e.g. a dangerous goods store outside the premises).

Protection may be by separation distance and/or physical means to mitigate the risk.

The presentation suggests ways on how to assess and achieve the desired result.

Peter Hunt – Former President, AIDGC & Director and Principal Consultant, Whamcorp
Frank Mendham - Former President, AIDGC & Managing Director, Mendham Consultants

In response to illegal stockpiling and fire incidents in NSW and VIC in recent years, NSW EPA’s Strategic Regulation team is conducting a targeted and intelligence led campaign across NSW to assess handling, storage and disposal practices of end-of-life acetylene cylinders and aerosols. The campaign involves inspecting over 20 businesses ranging from chemical production, gas storage and waste receivers to check for illegal stockpiling and compliance with relevant ADG storage requirements. James will present on the findings of the campaign, focusing on common issues, regulatory responses, and recommendations to improve handling practices moving forward.

James has been working in NSW EPA’s regulatory operations team since 2016, and by utilising diverse regulatory toolkits has delivered many positive regulatory outcomes benefiting the environment, industry, and community of NSW. James is currently leading NSW EPA’s new Strategic Regulation – Hazardous Materials team. The team, based across NSW, will take a strategic approach to regulation in the hazardous waste and Dangerous Goods transport space through targeted campaigns, working with regulatory partners and focusing on risk mitigation. Prior to working for NSW EPA, James was as a contaminated land consultant for 12 years in Australia, South Africa and UK, and has a keen understanding on challenges faced by consultants.

Peter will provide an overview of relevant Australian Standards affecting the dangerous good industry.

He will cover AS/NZS 60079 (hazardous Areas) series and AS2187.1 Explosives, AS 2927 (amendment), AS 4775, AS/NZS 2982, AS 2030.5, AS 4326 and more.

W.V.Peter Hunt is a chemical engineer. For the last 25years he has been consulting in technical safety issues as Principal Consultant of Whamcorp Pty Ltd, prior to which he held many roles in the chemical industry. He is a Fellow of AIDGC, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. He is a past President of AIDGC. He has extensive experience in the processing, storage, handling and transport of dangerous goods and other chemicals. He is an active member of several Standards Australia Committees. As transition to retirement, he currently provides expert witness reports, occasionally appearing in court.

A change is any modification that is not like for like. A modification could potentially increase risk, and each change needs to be assessed for risk. When a change involves hazardous chemicals, the consequence of the risk can be very high.
In the hazardous chemicals’ world, a change can be replacement of equipment, operation, personnel or process. A change can be initiated in an operating plant, a warehouse or during transportation. Each change is required to be assessed for risk, and be reviewed, approved and documented. Any training and communication required for the change needs to be conducted. Moreover, monitoring of the outcome and review of effectiveness of the change also needs to be carried out to ensure continued safe operation.

Aneeza is Associate Director in Aurecon's Asset Management and Performance practice. Aneeza has over 20 years of experience in safety in high-risk industries such as oil and gas, energy, petrochemicals manufacturing, mining and logistics. She has worked in operations and consultancy, managing safety and advising stakeholders on process safety and work health safety. Aneeza is well-versed in WHS Regulations, Safety Management Systems, Risk Management, Major Hazard Facility regulatory requirements, Project Management and Process Safety. She has worked with a spectrum of clients in utilities, energy, dangerous goods, transport and infrastructure space and has advised them on a range of issues including risk management, risk assessment and identifying gaps in safety strategies, policies and plans.

The increasing requirement for “fire risk assessments” for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and other emerging energy technologies reflects a broader regulatory shift toward risk-based decision-making. However, this shift is occurring at such a pace that clearly articulated and understood risk assessment techniques and acceptance criteria are struggling to keep up.

Lessons from the management of combustible cladding in Victoria after the Lacrosse and Grenfell fires show how misalignment of expectations when it comes to risk assessment methodologies and criteria can result in a breakdown of trust between regulators and practitioners. There are lessons that can be applied to BESS risk assessments so that all stakeholders are able to work constructively towards the safe development of renewable energy.

Ben Smith is the Australasia Risk & Process Safety Lead at Arup. A Chartered Chemical Engineer, Ben’s focus is on applying process safety principles in the built environment, as well as providing safety and risk consulting to the process industry. Ben has designed and implemented dangerous goods storage and handling strategies across the healthcare, education and technology sectors among others, as well as delivering fire safety studies and quantitative risk assessments for multiple types of green energy projects. He has also led fire and safety audits at petrochemical facilities in several countries across the Asia-Pacific region.

Hydrogen is expected to play a key role in the energy transition, but its unique properties introduce important safety challenges, particularly at hydrogen refuelling stations. This presentation explores how consequence and risk modelling tools can support the safe design and operation of these facilities. After introducing hydrogen production methods and key hazard scenarios, the session explains the principles of risk analysis and quantitative risk assessment (QRA). Case studies demonstrate how modelling tools such as EFFECTS, FLACS-CFD, and RISKCURVES can simulate hydrogen releases, jet fires, explosions, and dispersion behaviour. The results illustrate how risk metrics such as individual and societal risk can guide safety measures and support decision-making for safer hydrogen infrastructure.

Sonia Ruiz Pérez is the Product Manager for Gexcon’s EFFECTS & RISKCURVES software, leading the development of these consequence and risk modelling tools for assessing accidental chemical releases.

With a background in Chemical and Process Engineering and over a decade of experience in process safety, she is an expert in fire, explosion, and dispersion modelling and has contributed to model development, scientific publications, and model validation.

Sonia is passionate about bridging the gap between advanced modelling tools and practical safety applications, actively engaging with industry stakeholders through training, webinars, and technical workshops to promote safer operations in energy transition and high-hazard industries.

The transport of incompatible explosives is described in the Australian Code for the Transport of Explosives by Road and Rail (AEC3). Section 7.3.2 of AEC3 requires Category 2 loads to have a separation of at least two metres, or if that cannot be achieved, an effective means of segregation demonstrated to prevent sympathetic detonation. Regulators in both New South Wales and Queensland have published position papers highlighting the requirement to adhere to this section. Despite the inherent industry dependence on the transport of Category 2 mixed loads to undertake shotfiring, there has been a dearth of testing to demonstrate compliance of Category 2 carry boxes with AEC3.

Ryan will discuss several of these recent tests. The results indicate that for the carry box make and models tested, that they are compliant with the requirements of AEC3 7.3.2.

Ryan is currently Director of Frontier Safety, focussed on safety compliance, risk management, regulatory approvals and incident investigation for dangerous goods including explosives and explosives precursors. He is Past President of the International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) Australian Chapter that represents the Drill and Blast industry in Australia.

With an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and postgraduate degree in Forensic Chemistry, Ryan’s career started in forensic research of materials including explosives and ammonium nitrate. This led to 12 years regulating dangerous goods and explosives in Western Australia and Queensland. Ryan then took a role as Manager Safety, Security sand Compliance for an explosives manufacturing company for 4 years, helping develop the safety and security systems for Australia before embarking on his current role as a consultant.

The National Transport Commission has spent the last 5 years developing a completely new ADG Code. Matt Arkell will provide an overview of the new ADG Code, what is changing, and what isn’t. In addition to the ADG Code changes, Matt will also preview some of the future work the NTC will be undertaking on dangerous goods transport. This work program will support better understanding of dangerous goods transport and more effective application of the ADG Code.

Matt Arkell is a Principal Policy Advisor at the National Transport Commission. In this role, Matt advises Australian decision-makers on regulatory policy for the transport of dangerous goods. Matt heads Australia’s delegation to the UN Transport of Dangerous Goods Sub-committee. Before joining the NTC, Matt was a dangerous goods regulator with the NSW Environment Protection Authority and has held various positions in industry prior to this.
With a chemistry background, Matt has built experience in the management of quality, environmental, safety and compliance risks. Matt’s work in research and development, laboratory and transport operations has provided him with perspectives on challenges arising from hazardous chemicals and dangerous goods. Matt brings this to dangerous goods policy and works to ensure that dangerous goods regulations are kept up-to-date and fit-for-purpose. Matt understands the challenges of working across and between multiple jurisdictions, and the different issues faced by industry, regulators and the community.

This presentation details safety packaging strategies for transporting flammable liquids in explosion hazard zones (Ex-zones). It reviews regulatory guidelines, zone classifications, and the necessary use of Ex-approved IBCs. The effectiveness of EVOH barrier layers in reducing permeation risks is demonstrated, highlighting improved safety, product quality, and compliance with transport laws.

David Bloomer is a seasoned professional with over 20 years in senior operational and executive sales management roles in the packaging industry. Currently serving as New Business Development Manager at SCHÜTZ Australia, he drives sustainable packaging solutions across various sectors while actively engaging in industry associations to foster collaboration.

Design evolution is an inherent part of the project lifecycle and is necessary for improving functionality, safety and performance outcomes. However, as systems evolve, new hazards can unintentionally emerge even where the original design was demonstrably safe. Incremental or strategic design decisions can introduce new hazards, impact existing controls, or create interactions that were not anticipated in the initial concept. Through a practical example, the presentation will illustrate how well-intentioned enhancements can degrade safety, create latent hazard conditions, or amplify systematic vulnerabilities.
Central to the discussion is the importance of proactive hazard identification and robust change management embedded throughout the design lifecycle. The presentation will outline a structured approach that integrates safety considerations into decision making to safeguard inherently safe designs, ensuring that innovation does not compromise safety integrity.

Shyamal Sharma is a Director of MWS Risk and a Chartered Professional Engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the design, commissioning and assurance of process control and safety systems. A TÜV-certified Functional Safety Engineer and NSW-approved Hazard Specialist, he specialises in process safety, hazardous areas and functional safety across energy, resources, infrastructure and industrial facilities. His work bridges dangerous goods compliance and risk based engineering, helping organisations ensure that safeguards remain aligned as projects move from concept through commissioning and operation.

Clark Gormley is a Senior Risk Consultant at MWS Risk and a Chemical Engineer with more than 35 years of experience in process safety, dangerous goods and risk management. He specialises in risk assessments, HAZOP facilitation, hazardous area classification, LOPA and quantitative risk techniques. Clark has supported the design, modification, commissioning and operational assurance of chemical, mining, energy, waste and industrial facilities in Australia and internationally. His extensive experience in assessing plant modifications and facilitating multidisciplinary hazard studies brings a practical process safety perspective to keeping hazards, design assumptions and safeguards aligned as systems evolve.

Artificial intelligence is moving quickly into compliance practice, but dangerous goods is not an area where “close enough” is good enough.
This session provides a practical primer on what AI can and cannot do, where it may support experienced professionals, and where it can introduce new risks if used without the right controls.
The focus is not on promoting AI, but on helping DG professionals ask better questions, challenge the hype, and understand how this technology may affect compliance practice.

Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of DGXprt, an AI-powered platform transforming dangerous goods compliance for Australian workplaces. A product designer and technologist with 20+ years in risk and compliance SaaS, Christine specialises in making complex regulatory obligations manageable through intelligent automation. Her work sits at the intersection of deep domain expertise, product thinking, and applied AI, designing systems that don't just record compliance, but drive it. Christine believes in compliance technology that acts: proactive, AI-powered systems that get ahead of risk rather than react to it, and empower anyone to act with confidence, expert or not.

An SDS for the highly toxic and reactive compound acryloyl chloride recommended that the user was only required to wear respiratory PPE if the exposure limit had been exceeded or the individual was suffering symptoms of exposure. A recent comparison of SDS for acryloyl chloride revealed significant issues from poorly written recommendations to incorrect given to UN Numbers. This presentation looks at some of the challenges users are facing when trying to read and understand poorly written SDSs.

Lisa Stevens is highly qualified and experienced health and safety professional with over 30 years’ experience For the last 10 years Lisa has been heavily involved in developing and delivering training courses relating to the laboratory safety and chemical management across Australia. She has spent several years delivering laboratory safety training to graduate and undergraduate students at RMIT University, University of NSW, and The University of Melbourne as delivering sessions for secondary school laboratory technicians and science teachers.


Lisa has been involved in the drafting of SA Technical standards since 2013 and more recently was nominated as the AIHS representative on CH-026: Laboratory Safety and Design and SF-048 Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment Standards Technical Committees. Lisa spends much of her time auditing laboratories against AS/NZS2243 Safety in laboratories series. Lisa holds several academic qualifications including a Master of Occupational Health and Safety. In 2021 Lisa commenced her PhD studies at Edith Cowan University investigating the accuracy of safety data sheets and the impact of inaccurate safety data sheets on workplace risk assessments.