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Australia | Company fined a total of $170,000 after worker falls into excavation pit

Antonia Maddocks

1 min read

excavation pit in Australia

SafeWork NSW | Shoring Co Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined a total of $170,000 in the Industrial Court of NSW as a result of a prosecution by SafeWork NSW.

The proceedings arose from an incident on 26 September 2022, when a concrete pump malfunctioned during pouring operations, causing concrete to spray unexpectedly.

During the incident, a traffic controller fell into an excavation pit, which was approximately 10 metres deep at its deepest point.

Shoring Co Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences pursuant to section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. The offences related to failing to ensure, respectively the health and safety of workers as required under section 19(1), and the health and safety of other persons as required under 19(2), of the Act.

Shoring Co Pty Ltd has the right to appeal against the sentence.

– Accurate at time of publication | October 2026

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