Safety starts with design | Australia/New Zealand-wide service | info@safedesignaustralia.com.au | 1300 732 732

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ABOUT US

We believe good, creative and innovative design is important and work with you to meet your Safety in Design obligations without compromising design intent.

We help architects, building designers, design and construct companies, property developers, landscape designers, principal contractors, engineers and government departments.

Our focus is on integrating safety into the design process from the earliest stages so any risks are identified, controlled, and documented,

before construction even begins.

Our Team

Meet the dedicated team behind Safe Design Australia. Our professionals bring together expertise in work health and safety consulting, risk management, design integration and regulatory compliance. They specialise in supporting architects, engineers, developers and contractors across Australia and New Zealand. With shared values and a unified goal to embed Safety in Design without compromising creative intent, the team’s commitment ensures your project receives expert guidance from start to finish.

John Daly

John Daly

Director

John is the Director of Safe Design Australia and is internationally recognised for his leadership in Safety in Design, WHS and risk management.

Rebekah

Rebekah Colman

Senior Safety in Design Consultant

Rebekah is our Senior Safety in Design Consultant and one of Australia’s most experienced practitioners in Safety in Design and WHS integration.

Mark Saint, Quality, Safety and Risk Management Specialist, in a professional headshot

Mark Saint

Quality, Safety & Risk Management Specialist

Mark is our Quality, Safety, and Risk Management Specialist, with more than 30 years of international leadership in safety, quality and ISO systems.
Leo Fan - Safe Design Australia - Senior Consultant

Leo Fan

Senior Consultant

Leo is our Senior Consultant with strong expertise in Safety in Design and WHS across major transport, construction and communications projects.
Paul Harrison__2025

Paul Harrison

CPTED & Security Specialist

Paul is our CPTED Specialist with deep experience in safety and security design for government, defence, public and private infrastructure and high-risk environments.
Chintana

Chintana Sananikhone

Safety in Design Consultant

Chintana is our Residential Safety in Design consultant, leading our residential projects with a clear, visual and systems-focused approach to risk and compliance.
Amanda Flynn - Safe Design Australia - Internal Projects & Communications Lead

Amanda Flynn

Internal Projects & Communications Lead

Amanda is our Internal Projects and Communications Lead who improves our systems, workflows and documentation to support smooth project delivery
Dan

Dan Adams

Office Administrator

Dan is our Office Administrator who keeps projects, clients and consultants perfectly juggled through sharp organisation and strong communication.

We combine industry experience with a straightforward approach that makes meeting your Safety in Design obligations clearer, easier and faster.  Our goal is simple: to help you deliver designs that are innovative, compliant, efficient, and safe throughout their lifecycle.

Australian Institute of Health and Safety
Endorsed by

Safe Design Australia operates in alignment with Australia’s national and state Work Health and Safety frameworks, and follows recognised international standards that guide best practice in  Safe Design. We are well known in the Safety in Design sector and regularly work alongside key professional bodies including Safe Work Australia, the Australian Institute of Health & Safety, the Australian Institute of Architects, Engineers Australia, and the International CPTED Association.

We also work with clients to align their operations with  Standards Australia and relevant ISO systems such as ISO 45001 (safety management) and ISO 9001 (quality management).

Our engagement with the development of SID frameworks and methodologies, high standing within the Safety in Design community, and long WHS industry experience help ensure that our reports, reviews, recommendations, online SID courses, SID documentation packages, consulting, bespoke workshops and training  are consistent, reliable, and in step with current industry best practice and expectations.

John Daly

John is the Director of Safe Design Australia, recognised internationally for his leadership in Safety in Design, WHS and risk management. With over two decades of experience across construction, telecommunications, infrastructure and education, he has driven industry change for organisations including Vodafone Global, NBN Co and the NSW Government, and steered several industry bodies toward excellence in Safe Design and WHS.

A certified Safety Professional and expert witness, John turns complex legislation into practical design solutions that improve safety outcomes. His strategic approach and collaborative style continue to shape best practice across Australia and the Asia–Pacific, helping architects, engineers and regulators embed safety from concept to completion.

When not guiding projects or mentoring the next generation of Safety in Design professionals, John can be found sailing through Southeast Asia, racing in the Sydney to Hobart, or on a motorcycle exploring roads less travelled. 

SIA Certified Safety Professional, Postgraduate Diploma (Occupational Health & Safety), Bachelor of Applied Science (Construction Management), Diploma of Teaching, CPTED – NSW Police, Member UNSW Expert Witness Panel.

Rebekah Colman

Rebekah is our Senior Safety in Design Consultant and one of Australia’s most experienced practitioners in Safety in Design and WHS integration. With a background in public health, environmental science and risk management, she has helped shape national best practice — co-authoring Safe Design in Practice: for Designers of Structures and developing Safety in Design frameworks for leading firms including Candalepas Associates, Elenberg Fraser, ACOR, and Frasers Property.

Rebekah brings clarity, insight and understated wit to every workshop — guiding creative teams through complex risk discussions without losing focus (or the will to live). She’s an expert in embedding Safety in Design and WHS compliance seamlessly into the creative process, proving that regulation and imagination can, in fact, coexist.

Beyond work, Rebekah keeps bees and knows precisely how to avoid crocodiles in northern Australia — two skills that speak volumes about her grasp of risk.

Master of Public Health, Bachelor of Applied Science (Environmental Health), Certificate in Health Economics, NatHERS Accredited Thermal Performance Assessor, Cert IV in Occupational Health & Safety.

Mark Saint

With over 30 years in international safety and quality leadership, Mark Saint brings credentialled depth to Safe Design Australia’s consulting team. He’s led enterprise-wide transformations across sectors from energy and construction to FMCG and telecommunications — guiding major organisations in implementing ISO-certified management systems, lean frameworks and Safe Design risk management programs. 

A Six Sigma Black Belt and ISO Lead Auditor, Mark is equal parts strategist and problem-solver. He’s known for turning complexity into clarity, building collaboration across supply chains, and inspiring lasting cultural change in how safety is understood and lived. Mark’s facilitation style is fast, sharp and quietly entertaining — the sort of workshop where you leave smarter but not sure how you got there. 

When not auditing or leading workshops, he’s out in the Queensland sunshine, tending bees and cultivating ferocious chillies to deploy on friends and family. 

MBA (Arizona State), B.Eng (Hons, Chem Eng), Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, ISO Lead Auditor, NEBOSH Certified.

Leo Fan

Leo is our Senior Consultant with deep expertise in Safety in Design, WHS and risk management across large-scale transport, construction and communications projects. More than a decade of experience in civil infrastructure  includes Sydney Light Rail, Transport for NSW Driverless Initiatives and the NSW Telco Authority’s Critical Communications Program. His meticulous, systems-based approach to improving performance and reducing risk throughout project lifecycles is renowned.

A qualified Lead Auditor and ICAM investigator, Leo combines technical precision with practical insight and a rare talent for translating dense regulation into clear, usable systems. His analytical mind and intuitive grasp of complex processes make him the person teams call when compliance feels impossible.

Leo’s multiple industry accolades include finalist positions for Best Continuous Improvement of a WHS Management System and Best Safety Leadership Program by the NSCA Foundation, the Global LearnX Diamond Award, and Comcare’s Impact and Contribution Award — achievements shared with clients in recognition of collaborative excellence.

Offsite, Leo enjoys fencing, good food and the kind of order that makes engineers happy — which explains why his spreadsheets are oddly beautiful.

Diploma of Occupational Health & Safety, Bachelor of Business Management, Registered Exemplar Global OHS Management Systems Auditor, Lead Auditor (AS4801:2001), Certified ISO9001, ISO14001 & ISO45001 Auditor, ICAM Investigations.

Paul Harrison

Paul is Safe Design Australia’s CPTED and security design specialist, integrating safety, security and design compliance across complex environments. With 30+ years’ international experience in safety and risk consulting, Paul applies Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles to strengthen Safety in Design outcomes for government, defence and critical-infrastructure projects alongside public and commercial projects where security and safe designs are priorities.

A former military professional with multiple national security licences and an active clearance, Paul combines technical precision with design understanding — ensuring CPTED and Safety in Design strategies enhance usability and architectural intent. His expertise includes Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) implementation, security risk assessment, counter-terrorism planning and CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) risk management.

Paul believes the best CPTED and Safety in Design solutions make people safer without drawing attention to the systems behind them — a principle he applies to every project and, one suspects, to life in general.

CPTED Safer by Design Practitioner (ID: 51203154), Justice of the Peace (NSW), Radiation Security & Safety Advisor (R1065), CBRNE Defence Certificate, Licensed Security Consultant (NSW, VIC, ACT, QLD, SA).

Chintana Sananikhone— Residential Safety in Design Lead, Safe Design Australia

Chintana brings an imaginative, multidisciplinary lens to Safety in Design. As Safe Design Australia’s Residential Safety in Design Lead, she reviews Safety in Design reports and documentation packs, ensuring Safe Design principles are applied clearly and consistently to projects. With a background in landscape design, community engagement and visual communication, she combines creative insight with a rigorous approach to risk and compliance for human and environmental safety. Outside Safety in Design, short-form filmmaking sharpens her observation of how people move through spaces — insights she applies to balance risk, compliance and real-world behaviour.

Key credentials: Bachelor of Arts (Organisational Management), Diploma in Landscape Design, Certificate IV (Work Health & Safety).

Amanda Flynn — Internal Projects and Communications Lead

Amanda leads internal projects and communications at Safe Design Australia. She oversees the systems that support SDA’s Safety in Design and WHS consultants — from WHS compliance workflows and risk-management documentation integrity, to project coordination and quality control — strengthening the operational structure behind consistent, reliable Safety in Design delivery.

Driven by clarity and continuous improvement, Amanda believes architecture and business systems should be intelligent and beautiful. When she isn’t refining Safety in Design workflows, she’s writing, painting or restoring furniture — a long-standing habit of creatively improving whatever’s in front of her.

Education: Coursework toward Bachelor of Laws (Queensland University of Technology) and Bachelor of Architecture (University of Queensland); Certificate of Business Studies (Brisbane Institute).

Dan Adams— Office Administrator

Dan is the organisational heartbeat of Safe Design Australia, coordinating the moving parts that keep projects, clients and consultants on track. With a background in graphic design, logistics and customer service, he brings creative precision to Safety in Design consulting support.
After 15 years as a freelance and agency designer, Dan also manages client liaison, administration and WHS documentation workflows — applying a designer’s eye to systems and process. Known for dry wit and good humour, he’s the one you call when something needs fixing yesterday.

Education: Bachelor of Animation (Queensland College of Art, Griffith University), Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Education (University of New South Wales).

Name People

Job Role in SDA

SIA Certified Safety Professional, Postgraduate Diploma (Occupational Health & Safety), Bachelor of Applied Science (Construction Management), Diploma of Teaching, CPTED – NSW Police, Member UNSW Expert Witness Panel.

John is the Director of Safe Design Australia, recognised internationally for his leadership in Safety in Design, WHS and risk management. With over two decades of experience across construction, telecommunications, infrastructure and education, he has driven industry change for organisations including Vodafone Global, NBN Co and the NSW Government, and steered several industry bodies toward excellence in Safe Design and WHS.

aA certified Safety Professional and expert witness, John turns complex legislation into practical design solutions that improve safety outcomes. His strategic approach and collaborative style continue to shape best practice across Australia and the Asia–Pacific, helping architects, engineers and regulators embed safety from concept to completion.

When not guiding projects or mentoring the next generation of Safety in Design professionals, John can be found sailing through Southeast Asia, racing in the Sydney to Hobart, or on a motorcycle exploring roads less travelled.