The family of murdered outback nurse Gayle Woodford has welcomed the recommendations of an independent reviwe into SafeWork SA's investigation.
A former Federal Court Judge has found SafeWork SA's investigation into Ms Woodford's death was adequate but her family could be better informed.
The review, commissioned by the South Australian government in May, was provided to the Attorney-General Kyam Maher earlier this month and was released publicly on Monday night.
In 2016, Ms Woodford was raped and murdered by Dudley Davey while she was the on-call nurse in the remote town of Fregon on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia.
Ms Woodford's death also prompted calls for more protection to be afforded nurses working solo in remote areas, with legislation known as Gayle's Law enacted in 2017.
SafeWork SA investigated the death but in May concluded there was no reasonable chance of a successful prosecution against her employer, the Nganampa Health Council (NHC), for work health and safety breaches.
An independent review by former Federal Court Judge John Mansfield AM QC found SafeWork SA's year-long investigation was adequate and thorough.
"Indeed, in my view, it was comprehensive and thorough and conducted effectively," Mr Mansfield wrote.
His review also found the decision not to prosecute was because the Crown Solicitor's senior counsel advised that "it could not be shown beyond reasonable doubt that Gayle was doing work as part of her on-call nursing duties when she opened the cage door".
Mr Mansfield examined 24 folders of documents that was provided to senior and junior counsel by SafeWork SA's investigation team, which included evidence obtained by the Coroner and SA Police.
Engagement with family could be better
The former judge concluded that SafeWork SA did not communicate adequately with husband Keith Woodford and their family in the weeks following an coronial inquest that found her death at work could have been avoided.
The release of the inquest findings in April 2021 set a new 12-month deadline to bring charges against NHC.
"There was sufficient information available to SafeWork SA about Keith's concerns to warrant a more prompt contact, especially given the new 12 month time limitation," Mr Mansfield wrote.
SafeWork SA responded to Mr Woodford in June about the investigation that was underway but pointed out a prosecution may not necessarily result.
The review also recommended that laws could be reviewed to allow more information about SafeWork investigations to be shared, something the state government has agreed to look at.
"The consultation provisions in the Work Health and Safety Act will be carefully considered to see if more information can be provided to families as investigations are proceeding, and to ensure the time frames for bringing a prosecution provide a fair opportunity for families to be kept informed," Attorney-General Kyam Maher said.
Mr Mansfield also suggested extending the limitation periods to bring proceedings.
Family welcomes recommendations
Gayle Woodford's husband, Keith, has welcomed the recommendations of the review into SafeWork SA's investigation.
He said potential changes to the legislation to keep families better informed would stop unnecessary heartache.
"I know it's cold comfort to us but we're really happy with those changes.
"The police haven't got that type of secrecy and we just couldn't work out why they can hide behind a secrecy act."
He also praised moves to extend the time limitation periods to bring proceedings.
"In our case there was only three days left on the time limit to do anything," he said.
"They only told us three days before.
"We had no comeback and didn't know what to do.
"Now anyone will have a better chance of getting a finding in the end.
"We've got no closure now and we can't do anything about it. There's nothing we can do, there's no other avenues we can go down to get a prosecution.
"It's mainly to us now that Nganampa Health has got off scot-free."
Mr Woodford said he is not sure whether he will bring a civil case against his wife's employer, the Nganmpa Health Council.
"It's in our minds but we're not pushing that at the moment. It will depend on what it's going to cost," he said.
