The Safety Institute of Australia Ltd (SIA) began in 1949 when the first group of students in the Industrial Safety and Accident Prevention Course at Melbourne Technical College formed the Industrial Safety Research Group. Within 15 years, a Division of this Group had been formed in each State. In 1954, the name was changed to the Safety Engineering Society and in 1977 the Society became the Safety Institute of Australia Ltd. Over more than 50 years, the SIA has grown from a few students with a shared passion for promoting health and safety to a well established and highly respected national professional organisation.
The SIA has been one of the drivers of health and safety curriculum in Australia - this includes the formation of the OHS Educators' Chapter in 2003.
The SIA is a key influencer of standards and legislation relative to health and safety. The SIA is represented on a number of Standards Australia Technical Committees and a Technical Standards Committee has been established by the institute to provide critical review and analysis of proposed health and safety government legislation.