The tree industry might seem a world away from running public swimming pools, but for Lauren Privitera, the two sectors share some remarkable similarities.

Both are arenas where safety is paramount and both are environments where lives can change in the blink of an eye.

Since 2024, Lauren has served as Active Tree Services HSEQ Advisor, overseeing workplace health and safety in NSW, ACT and QLD.

It’s a job she clearly loves, but working in safety was something she discovered almost by chance after starting out as a swim instructor.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left school,” Lauren recalls.

“I’d witnessed a child drown and asked myself, ‘What can I do to make a difference?’

“So, I started as a swim teacher, lifeguard and duty manager then worked my way up to health and safety representative before going into safety.”

Lauren went on to become Aquatic Co-ordinator for Blacktown City Council and then took on a job as an Aquatic Risk Officer for Royal Life Saving NSW, auditing pools across NSW, the ACT and Tasmania.

Then, two years ago, an opportunity arose at Active Tree Services. Seeking a new challenge, Lauren threw her hat into the ring and successfully landed the role of HSEQ advisor.

It’s a job which sees her travelling to different sites across NSW, ACT and QLD, checking in with crews and discussing all things safety.

“The tree industry has a different sort of risk,” Lauren says.

“In swimming pools it’s more about risk to the public, but this industry has more high-risk activities for our workers as there’s so much manual handling and machinery.

“I mean our teams can be working 15ft in the air using a chainsaw near powerlines.”

Conceding it was a steep learning curve to enter a whole new industry with new acronyms and different safety challenges, Lauren says she spent the first couple of months listening, learning, and getting to know people.

“I joined Active during a transition in the safety manager role. I was also a female who had never cut a tree, so I went out for those first two months and said, ‘tell me what you do’.”

That approach paid off. Lauren’s willingness to listen rather than tell allowed her to quickly gain an insight into the business.

“I got a lot of calls, and everyone was incredibly helpful,” she says.

“I think the biggest thing was that I soon began to appreciate if they’re not cutting, the business is not making money.

“So my job is to listen, understand the challenges and design a suitable safety response.”

While Lauren lives in Sydney, her job is deliberately mobile. Rather than having a base, she travels from site to site.

One day she might be in Brisbane, another day she is in Tumut, Bathurst, Batemans Bay or the heart of Sydney.

“I try to visit the crews and check in with them, then educate them if something’s not right,” she says.

“Often safety is actually about learning from our mistakes.

“It’s not about catching people out but ensuring we are on the same playing field.

“If there’s an incident, I want people to tell me what happened. That way we can make changes, and my job is to help as much as I can so we can learn together.”

While Lauren might have stepped away from pool safety, she still has a love for the water.

Recently, she re-embraced competitive swimming, clocking up nine personal bests at the nationals competition in Brisbane.

She also swims for charity. Inspired by her nephew who has Cerebral Palsy, Lauren raises funds for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, and Active Tree Services has supported her in this endeavour.

“Every second year I take time out in February to raise funds by swimming 2km a day,” Lauren says.

“But to have a company back me the whole way has been incredible, and Active has been so supportive.

“For every dollar I raise they have doubled it, so where I might previously have made $250, this year I made $4500.”

That level of support is something Lauren genuinely appreciates and says is unique to the Active culture. But so is the willingness to recognise potential, learn and give people a chance.

“I felt really lucky to be given the opportunity at Active,” Lauren says.

“But I also think there are different types of ‘safety’ people in this world.

“And for me, it’s all about putting people first.”