SafeWork SA’s director of workplace education and business services Prema Osborne announced in an email to staff on Wednesday that she would leave the regulator in a week’s time.

In the email, titled “Time to say Goodbye” and seen by InDaily, Osborne said she had been approached to work in an executive role in another government agency and had taken the opportunity “with two hands”.

“As you all know there are numerous opportunities available and this offer was just too good to say no,” she wrote.

“This is a good time for me to leave, with a Review being finalised and someone fresh with new ideas to come in and continue the incredible journey that SafeWork SA is on.”

It comes just eight days after the workplace health and safety regulator’s chief executive Martyn Campbell announced that he would leave the regulator in late January after almost six years in the role.

A SafeWork spokesperson told InDaily last week that Campbell had accepted a position in the private sector, which was “suitable to his personal circumstances”.

Both resignations precede the handing-down of a “root and branch review” into the agency, commissioned by the state government in September and due by the end of this year ahead of public release early next year.

The review is being led by former chair and executive director of WorkSafe Victoria John Merritt, who has been tasked with probing SafeWork SA’s compliance and enforcement functions, as well as the engagement between the regulator and other government agencies in monitoring workplace safety.

Labor announced its intention to commission the review ahead of the March state election, promising it would ensure “a genuine voice for workers in complaint and resolution processes”.

A SafeWork SA spokesperson said Osborne would leave the agency on December 9 to take up another state government role, but they said her departure was not related to Campbell’s resignation or the Merritt review.

Meanwhile, the agency told InDaily it plans to close its Berri office in January.

The decision was first revealed by Campbell in evidence to parliament’s budget and finance committee in October.

At the time, he said the closure was a result of budget savings measures required in this year’s state budget, with the agency estimating to save about $250,000 from shutting the office.

A SafeWork SA spokesperson told InDaily that the Berri office handled a “significantly lower volume of work than any of SafeWork SA’s other regional offices”.

They said while the agency planned to close the office in January, the exact date was not yet known and would depend on a “range of factors”, including the River Murray flooding situation.

“The two inspectors based at Berri are considering their positions, including options to remain with the agency,” the spokesperson said.

“The two closest SafeWork SA offices to the Riverland are Adelaide and Port Pirie, which will service the region following the closure of the Berri branch.”

Return to Work SA statistics for the Riverland and Mallee show the area accounts for about five per cent of the state’s accepted workplace injury claims, or 2640 over the past four years.

SA Unions secretary Dale Beasley described the decision to shut the SafeWork SA office as “nothing short of reckless” and called on the agency to reverse its decision.

“There are already less inspectors on worksites than ever before,” he said.

“The current flood emergency should be a wakeup call for SafeWork SA.

“SafeWork SA is planning on servicing the Riverland from Pt Pirie. If an incident happens at a vineyard in Loxton, it’s a minimum of 3.5 hours before an inspector could possibly show up.”

The state government earlier this year asked SafeWorkSA to find $700,000 in savings per annum indexed from this financial year.

Campbell told parliament’s budget and finance committee that the agency was trying to save from goods and services, while leaving full-time positions as a “very last resort”.

“The plan going forward next year will be to apply the same process, so initially looking at goods and services,” he told the committee.

“There’s only so much we can do in relation to cutting goods and services before we can’t cut anymore, and then we will have to look at FTE (full-time-equivalent) positions next year.”