SafeWork SA executive director Martyn Campbell quits role after receiving lucrative mining sector position

The boss of the state’s safety watchdog has taken a new job just weeks before the findings of an independent review into the agency are set to be handed down.

The chief of the state’s safety watchdog has quit for a lucrative role in the mining industry, just weeks before an independent review into the agency’s operations is set to be completed.

The Advertiser can reveal SafeWork SA executive director Martyn Campbell has resigned from the top job, but will stay in the role until the findings and recommendations of the independent review are handed down.

Former chair and executive director of WorkSafe Victoria John Merritt is conducting the review that is focusing on the “effectiveness of SafeWork SA’s compliance and enforcement functions”. Findings are expected early next month.

SafeWork SA has faced public criticism for its handling of a number of high-profile cases including the infamous 2018 Adelaide Crows pre-season camp and the Royal Adelaide Show incident in which 8-year-old Adelene Leong was killed when she was thrown from a ride in 2014.

Labor promised a “root-and-branch review” of the agency ahead of its March state election victory.

On Tuesday, Mr Campbell told The Advertiser the review had nothing to do with his decision to leave.

Former SafeWork SA executive director Martyn Campbell. Picture: Tait Schmaal

“In the six years I’ve been here this agency has been under some form of external review, so there was never really going to be the right time to walk away,” he said.

“I’m not overly concerned about the outcomes of the review. It was not a factor in the timing at all.

“If I was being sacked, I would have been marched out the door today but that’s not the case.”

His new employer has not been revealed.

“I’m on the road to retirement in the next four or five years … this is just an opportunity I couldn’t say ‘no’ to,” he said.

A SafeWork SA spokesman said Mr Campbell would stay on through the Christmas period and finish in late January.

“This will allow Mr Campbell to receive the independent review into SafeWork SA, begin implementing any recommendations and handover to the new executive director following a recruitment process.”

Mr Campbell said he had been “informed verbally” that had been set to be offered a three-year contract extension with SafeWork SA.

“But I recently informed the chief executive of the Attorney-General’s Department that I had received this new opportunity and they’ve expressed their disappointment,” he said.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher thanked him for his service.

Former SafeWork SA executive director Martyn Campbell. Picture: Tait Schmaal

Mr Campbell was first appointed to lead SafeWork SA’s top role in August 2017.

Just over a year into the job, an ICAC inquiry found a catalogue of failures within SafeWork SA, making 39 recommendations.

That inquiry was in part spurred by the fact that SafeWork SA prosecutors dropped charges against safety inspectors who approved the operation of the Royal Adelaide Show ride from which Adelene Leong was thrown.

After the inquiry reported, Mr Campbell vowed to radically improve the agency’s practices.

On Tuesday, Mr Campbell said he believed he was leaving SafeWork SA in a better position than when he arrived.

“It’s been six years of huge organisational reform and the successor in my role has the opportunity to take that reform to the next level with fresh enthusiasm and a new set of eyes,” he said.

Originally published as SafeWork SA executive director Martyn Campbell quits role after receiving lucrative mining sector position