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Selling the Used Vacuum Cleaner: Influence, Advocacy, and Getting Safety a Seat at the Table

Tracks
Track 1
Friday, August 28, 2026
1:30 PM - 2:05 PM

Details

Michelle brings a Communications and Operations background to the question of how safety professionals build influence. This session is about the practical work of making a compelling case, securing resources, and shifting from raising concerns to shaping decisions. If getting traction inside your organisation has felt harder than it should, this session offers a different way to approach it.


Speaker

Michelle Riley
is Director, Risk & HSE
Development Victoria

Selling the Used Vacuum Cleaner: Influence, Advocacy, and Getting Safety a Seat at the Table

Biography

Michelle Riley is Director, Risk & HSE at Development Victoria, leading risk, safety and wellbeing across some of Victoria’s most complex development projects. Michelle is known for her practical approach to strategic influencing for safety; working with leaders, project teams and contractors to shift safety from a compliance activity to a core part of how work gets done. She brings extensive experience in safety culture transformation, psychosocial risk and organisational change, with a strong focus on building trust, cutting through complexity and enabling leaders to make better decisions. Michelle is passionate about creating environments where people feel safe to speak up, challenge the status quo and be their best authentic selves.
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