By Scott Vanderheyden, General Manager Health and Safety
As Belgravia Leisure continues to grow, each new contract and venue transition present both an opportunity and a responsibility. While transitions are often measured by whether systems are operational, staffing structures are in place and services commence on schedule, experience has shown that successful mobilisations depend on much more than operational readiness.
Reflecting on the successful transitions undertaken over the last 12 months across 24 new venues, our teams learned that every venue transition is a significant change event.
When a new venue joins the Belgravia Leisure family, we are introducing our systems, processes, expectations and culture to an almost completely new team. At the same time, we are seeking to understand local practices, historical risks, workforce dynamics and community expectations.
Managing this effectively requires a structured approach to both change management and safety management.
In particular throughout June and July 2026, where Belgravia Leisure transitioned into eight new venues spread out across four states with another five seasonal venues in the pipeline), one key lesson became clear: safety must be embedded throughout the entire transition journey, not introduced once the contract is operational.
As a start, this meant supporting the transition period through dedicated transition meetings, manager briefings and ongoing leadership engagement to maintain visibility of emerging risks and opportunities.
Having a safety professional on site, working shoulder to shoulder with operational leaders during a transition provides significant benefits. From developing trust and relationships with the broader team, a better understanding of the site-specific nuances that may be lost in remote management, being able to assist in implementation of safety systems from the coalface and the provision of on-site help to embed our “Think Safe, Act Safe, Be Safe” methodology, right from the start.
Safety begins before day one
One of the most important elements of a successful transition is the work completed before a venue officially commences under our management.
Long before team members are onboarded or systems are activated, the Safety team works closely with operational leaders to understand the venue’s current state and identify any significant risks requiring attention.
This planning phase typically includes:
- Review of historical incident and injury data
- Assessment of critical safety risks
- Review of contractor and supplier arrangements
- Evaluation of emergency management arrangements
- Child Safety and safeguarding considerations
- Environmental and compliance obligations
- Identification of outstanding corrective actions or regulatory requirements
- Review of workers compensation and injury management matters
- Development of transition risk registers and action plans.
This process provides operational leaders with greater visibility of potential risks and allows priority actions to be identified before services commence.
Most importantly, it ensures that safety is embedded within the transition project itself, rather than being treated as a post-transition activity.
Supporting leaders through change
One of the challenges of any mobilisation is that venue leaders are often managing multiple competing priorities simultaneously. They are introducing new systems, supporting team members through uncertainty, responding to contract partner expectations and ensuring uninterrupted service delivery.
During this period, the role of the Safety team extends beyond compliance support.
The team works alongside operational leaders to:
- Provide guidance on risk management requirements
- Support worker consultations
- Assist with incident and hazard management processes
- Facilitate onboarding into Belgravia Leisure’s safety systems
- Run organisational inductions and training sessions – both in person and virtually
- Clarify legislative obligations and compliance expectations
- Assist with critical risk identification and control implementation
- Monitor emerging issues.
This approach was evident in recent transitions including those at Merri-Bek, Moss Vale and Broken Hill, with the Safety team having a presence during the critical handover phase to finalise documents, assist in risk assessments, get a first-hand understanding of venue operations, train team members on safety content and perform inductions.
This partnership approach is critical because many of the risks associated with transitions are human, rather than technical. Team members may be experiencing uncertainty around new processes, reporting structures or workplace expectations. Maintaining visible support during this period helps build trust, confidence and engagement.
From a change management perspective, this is where safety becomes an enabler of successful transition rather than simply a compliance function.
Culture transfers more slowly than systems
A common misconception in transitions is that implementation is complete once systems have been configured and training has been delivered.
In reality, the integration of a venue into the Belgravia Leisure way of operating continues well beyond commencement day.
Systems can be implemented in a matter of weeks. Culture takes much longer.
Our recent transition experience reinforced the importance of leadership visibility, consultation and ongoing engagement during the early operational period. Workers need time to understand not only what our policies require, but also what our values look like in practice.
This includes:
- Open reporting of hazards and incidents
- Proactive risk identification
- Respectful and supportive leadership
- Commitment to Child Safety
- Continuous improvement
- Shared accountability for safety outcomes.
These behaviours are not established through procedures alone. They are developed through consistent leadership and active reinforcement over time.
The importance of the 30-day review
Perhaps the most valuable component of the transition process is what occurs after commencement.
Once the venue has been operating under Belgravia Leisure management for approximately 30 days, the Safety team conducts a structured review with operational leaders to assess how the transition is performing in practice. This check-in serves several important purposes and allows leaders to step back from day-to-day operations and consider:
- What has gone well?
- What challenges have emerged?
- Are key safety systems functioning effectively?
- Have any new risks been identified?
- Are corrective actions being managed appropriately?
- How are teams adapting to the new environment?
- Are there any workforce, wellbeing or psychosocial concerns requiring support?
Importantly, this review is not intended to be an audit. It’s a collaborative conversation focused on validating that controls are working, identifying opportunities for improvement and ensuring support can be provided where required. The review also allows the organisation to capture lessons learned that can strengthen future transitions across the business.
In many respects, this 30-day discussion represents the point where transition activity moves from implementation to continuous improvement.
Looking forward
As we continue to secure and mobilise new contracts, our ability to manage change effectively will become an increasingly important organisational capability.
The recent transition period demonstrated the value of a structured approach that begins well before day one, provides visible support throughout mobilisation and continues beyond commencement through deliberate follow-up and review.
Successful transitions are not simply about opening doors on the first day of a contract – they are about ensuring people feel supported, leaders have confidence, risks are understood and systems are functioning as intended.
By embedding safety into every stage of the transition lifecycle, from due diligence and planning through to 30-day operational reviews, we create a stronger foundation for long-term success.
Winning a contract is an achievement, but successfully integrating a venue into Belgravia Leisure’s culture, systems and safety expectations is what turns that achievement into sustained performance.
