About Foresight ELS
We Started This Because We Believed It Could Be Done Better
Foresight ELS was built on a straightforward idea: that good WHS consulting should feel like a genuine partnership, not a box-ticking exercise. Too many businesses end up with safety systems that look right on paper but do not reflect how their operations actually work, and too many leaders carry obligations they do not fully understand until something goes wrong.
We came from industries where the stakes were real. Between us, Nate and Blake have worked in emergency services, construction, manufacturing, logistics, energy and education. We have seen what happens when safety systems are built around compliance rather than people, and we have spent our careers building something better.
At Foresight ELS, we work alongside our clients rather than at arm's length. We learn how your business operates, where the genuine risks sit, and what your people need to do their jobs safely and confidently. Then we build something that actually works in the real world.
What Drives Us
Our Mission
We are here to make safety genuinely simpler for the organisations that need it most. Not simpler in a way that cuts corners, but simpler in a way that makes sense to the people doing the work. Our goal in every engagement is to leave your organisation safer, more capable and better equipped than when we arrived.
Our Vision
To be the consultancy that clients in high-risk industries and schools trust to tell them the truth, build systems that last, and stand alongside them when it matters.
Our Values
Integrity
We say what we mean and we follow through. If we identify a problem, we will tell you, even if it is not what you were hoping to hear. That honesty is the foundation of every client relationship we build.
Collaboration
The best safety systems are built with the people who have to use them. We ask questions, listen carefully, and involve your team in the process because that is what makes the outcome stick.
Clarity
Compliance does not have to be confusing. Our job is to cut through the complexity, give you a clear picture of where you stand, and a practical path to where you need to be.
Impact
We measure our success by what changes after we leave. Safer workplaces, stronger systems, more confident leaders, and organisations that do not need to call us back for the same problem twice.
The People Behind Foresight ELS
Two founders. Between us, more than three decades of experience across some of Australia's most demanding industries.
Nate Chellew - Co-Founder & Director
Nate spent over twenty years in emergency services, including an extensive career with Fire and Rescue NSW, before moving into executive leadership roles across operations, HSEQ and corporate services with major national service providers. He has built high-performing teams, led complex organisational change, and spent a long time working in environments where getting safety wrong was never an option.
What drove Nate to start Foresight ELS was a frustration he kept encountering throughout his career: organisations that genuinely wanted to do the right thing but were being sold compliance frameworks that did not fit how they actually worked. He wanted to build something more honest than that.
Outside of work, Nate is balancing the usual chaos of family life, staying active, and reminding himself that not every problem needs a management framework to solve it.
At Foresight ELS, Nate leads on strategic advisory, governance, systems design and workforce capability.
Blake Babbage - Co-Founder & Director
Blake's career started on the floor of a Coles distribution centre, which gave him an early and practical understanding of how operational businesses actually run. From there he moved into the fuel and energy sector, then into HSEQ leadership roles across construction, manufacturing and logistics, supporting multi-site operations through compliance challenges, systems improvement and high-risk environments.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Diploma in Work Health and Safety, a combination that gives him a genuinely useful ability to translate legal obligations into plain language that people can act on. Blake has spent his career being the person in the room who can explain what the legislation actually requires, and what your business actually needs to do about it.
Outside of work, Blake is navigating the same juggle most people are: family, exercise, keeping up with the kids, and finding time for the things that matter.
At Foresight ELS, Blake leads on capability building, systems development and on-the-ground client support.
Want to Know More?
If you would like to understand how Foresight ELS could support your business, the best place to start is a conversation. No obligation, no sales pitch, just an honest discussion about where you are and whether we can help.