ABSTRACT
Activities that can be described as ergonomics in nature commenced in Australia in the late 1930s (Howie and Macdonald et al. 1988). e work was largely concerned with human factors in relation to ¢ying. Following this, ergonomics research groups were established in government departments and universities. Ergonomics practice and its prole dramatically increased and altered during the 1980s as new occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation was introduced and an “epidemic” of work-related repetitive strain injury (RSI) was experienced in Australia. e profession has progressed in various realms since that period, and its involvement in the international ergonomics scene through formal engagement, such as through the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), and multinational collaborative projects has become signicant.
