Joseph Bradford
Deputy OHS Team Manager, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch), Melbourne
Master of Human Rights with Honours (First Class)
As someone who considers himself a bit of a union hack, Joseph Bradford loves empowering nurses and midwives to take action in their workplace through his role at the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch).
“I’m responsible for providing advice and support to nurses and midwives who have health and safety issues in the workplaces. My responsibilities include highlighting health and safety issues to employers, and working with health and safety representatives and WorkSafe to ensure they take appropriate action. I’m also advocating to external stakeholders for improvements to health and safety legislation and enforcement, and am developing and facilitating health and safety representative training. This is an important component in empowering workplace health and safety reps to take action.
“It’s a privilege to represent such hardworking members who care about their job and deserve to have the safest possible workplace. Working with likeminded colleagues is fun and it’s motivating to all be working towards the same goal.”
Memories of AUT
Having graduated from AUT with a Master of Human Rights, Joseph says he often draws on his studies in his career now.
“I chose this programme as it covered numerous topics, including local and international human rights, advocacy and human rights research, and had direct links into my work experience as a union organiser. My studies gave me the confidence to advocate for workers to the best of my ability, as well as the tools to acquire further knowledge, which is required when working in an ever-changing health and safety landscape. The skills I learned gave me ability to further question the status quo and dive deeper into the root causes of societal issues, and enabled me to analyse and critique occupational health and safety policy, and industrial legislation.”
The people he met were one of the highlights of his time at AUT.
“The fantastic lecturers we had throughout the programme helped to broaden my knowledge and understanding across a number of different topics. All the staff I encountered throughout my time at AUT were incredible, but I’d like to give a special shout-out to Associate Professor Jane Verbitsky who was the golden thread throughout the programme and who ensured that everything ran smoothly.
“My fellow students were also incredible, and the programme wouldn’t have been the same without them. It was a diverse bunch – from a lawyer to an army captain and a superyacht worker – who shared a wealth of knowledge and experience throughout the programme.”
Advice for other students
Joseph – who graduated from AUT in 2019 and is proud of receiving an AUT Human Rights Scholarship Award and the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Study – has some great advice for other students who are considering university study.
“Don’t be afraid to return to study as an older student – I did at 28, and now am doing it again at 35! It’s an amazing feeling to connect your life experience to academic theory.”
Never stop learning, he adds.
“Once you find your passion, go for it and you’ll see that the opportunities are limitless.”
