Government of Western Australia | G8 Education Limited has been penalised for inadequate supervision and failure to protect a child from a hazard likely to cause injury.

The approved provider, which operates the service Great Beginnings Cloverdale, was ordered to pay a total penalty of $65,000 for contravening sections 165(1) and 167(1) of the Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012 for the offences of inadequate supervision of a child and failing to ensure that every reasonable precaution was taken to protect children from harm and from any hazard likely to cause injury.

A Department of Communities (Communities) investigation found that two children, aged one year seven months and two years four months old, exited the toddler room as an educator held the door open to speak to a parent. One child proceeded to wander into the car park, while the other remained in the area.

Fortunately, a parent noticed the child was alone in the car park and returned the child to the toddlers’ room. It was at this point that the educators realised that the two children had exited the service.

G8 Education Limited was also ordered to pay $2,000 towards the Department of Communities’ legal costs.

Government of Western Australia | An underground mining contractor has been fined $540,000, and ordered to pay $8,414 in costs, after an October 2022 rock fall in a ventilation shaft at the Hamlet Underground Gold Mine near Kambalda, which killed a driller and injured a probationary offsider.

RUC Mining Contractors Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court to two counts of the same offence, exposing a worker to a risk of death, injury, or harm to health, contrary to sections 19(1) and 32(1) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2020.

This offence does not indicate that the breach caused the fatal incident. However, it highlights a failure in relation to risk management.

Magistrate William Yoo imposed on RUC Mining Contractors, which Gold Fields Australia Pty Ltd engaged to conduct raise bore-drilling work at the Hamlet Underground Gold Mine, part of its St Ives Gold Mine, a single fine of $540,000 for the two counts.

In October 2022, an RUC Mining Contractors-employed driller and probationary offsider were engaged in disassembling a reamer by unbolting and removing wings attached to the reamer’s centre box at the base of a ventilation shaft, which had been drilled using an underground mining technique known as raise boring.

Reamers must be disassembled and removed from the holes they create. At the time of the fatal incident, the disassembly method that RUC Mining Contractors employed involved pulling the reamer’s head to the side of the raise, rotating the reamer’s head to position its worked-on parts beneath supported ground and behind protective curtains.

As the reamer was not centred in the hole, RUC Mining Contractors staff were experiencing difficulties hanging the curtains, made from rubber conveyor belt material, and draping them over the reamer’s head. To enable the centring of the reamer in the hole, an RUC Mining Contractors employee booked a jumbo operator to install a torque plate on the ventilation shaft’s right-hand wall. However, in the meantime, disassembly work continued.

During that period, the RUC Mining Contractors area manager visited the mine and observed that the protective curtains were not properly installed. Also, the area manager instructed the driller to climb off the reamer as the driller was working too close to the curtains directly beneath the hole and, consequently, beneath unsupported ground.

The fatal incident occurred about an hour after the RUC Mining Contractors area manager left the ventilation shaft. The driller was standing on top of the reamer’s head, undoing bolts on its top. The probationary offsider was standing on the ground close to the reamer’s edge, feeding the driller the air hose for the rattle gun they were using. The driller was standing under unsupported ground. A rock fall happened, striking the driller and causing the probationary offsider to fall to the ground. The driller died instantly. The probationary offsider suffered minor physical injuries and a psychological injury.

Government of Western Australia | A meat processing co-operative has been fined $785,000 (and ordered to pay more than $5,700 in costs) over the death of a worker at a Katanning abattoir in 2022.

Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative Ltd (WAMMCO) pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and, by that failure, causing the death of a worker and was fined in the Albany Magistrates Court.

In December 2022, an abattoir worker was killed after becoming entangled in an item of plant known as a “cake press” while working at the Katanning Abattoir operated as part of the WAMMCO co-operative.

The Katanning Abattoir processes lamb for human consumption and by-products for animal feed and biofuel. The incident occurred in the “rendering shed,” an area where products not intended for human consumption were processed.

The worker was carrying out a daily shutdown procedure for which a work instruction was to be followed.

The process involved the worker emptying hessian bags of meat meal weighing 25kg-to-30kg into an open hopper to clean out the cake press which contained paddles that needed to be rotating during the procedure.

While in the process of emptying a bag into the hopper, the worker was drawn into the large opening of the cake press, suffering fatal crush injuries.

SafeWork NSW | Menai Civil Contractors Pty Ltd has been fined $69,750 in the Industrial Court of NSW after pleading guilty to a category 3 offence under the Work Health and Safety Act NSW 2011.

SafeWork NSW prosecuted the civil construction company following a workplace incident on 11 November 2022 where a worker fell nearly four metres from a bridge abutment.

Menai Civil was engaged as the principal contractor at a construction site at Huntley, New South Wales where the worker was employed to undertake formwork stripping.

At the time of the incident, the worker was positioned at the top of the southern abutment, using an extension ladder to attach wire chains between a 26-tonne excavator and form soldiers.

The worker was not wearing a harness when carrying out this work, as the steel to anchor it was on the opposite side of the abutment.

The court found that the risk of a worker falling from height while stripping formwork was known to Menai Civil and it had a duty to ensure its subcontractors were following safe systems of work. Its failure to do so was inconsistent with a proactive or systematic approach to safety.

Menai Civil was convicted of failing to meet its duty to ensure the health and safety of its workers.

Falls from heights remain a leading cause of traumatic injuries and fatalities at NSW workplaces, with most occurring in the construction industry.

Business News | G and G Mining Fabrication will pay more than $500,000 over a workplace incident at its workshop that caused a worker to lose his eye and suffer serious head injuries.

The Hazelmere-based company pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment that caused serious harm to a worker over an incident in August 2021.

Midland Magistrates Court fined G and G Mining $500,000 and ordered the company to pay more than $6,500 in costs.

In a written statement, WorkSafe said the incident involved a steel plate weighing more than 500 kilogrammes, known as a “lug plate,” falling on the boilermaker’s head while he was fabricating a hook-up assembly for an excavator bucket.

As a result, the boilermaker incurred several significant injuries, including the loss of an eye and multiple skull-based fractures.

According to WorkSafe, the injured boilermaker considered the lug plate secured by turnbuckles which were welded on to provide additional restraint.

WorkSafe said G and G Mining Fabrication did have a relevant safe work procedure both documented and in place, however it was not utilised or provided to workers.

WorkSafe Victoria | A metal fabrication company has been fined $30,000 after a 17-year-old apprentice suffered horrific burns when his clothes caught fire while welding.

CND Contractors Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to one charge of failing to provide and maintain a safe system of work, and one charge of failing to provide workers with necessary supervision.

The company was fined without conviction and ordered to pay costs of $4,365.

In October 2023, the first-year apprentice was fabricating a metal footing cage when sparks from the welding process ignited his clothing.

After realising he was on fire, the apprentice ran outside and attempted to extinguish the flames by rolling on the ground but was unsuccessful. Still alight, he ran back inside and shouted for help before co-workers used a hose to put out the flames.

The teenager was airlifted to Melbourne and spent a month in hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries including skin grafts to his stomach, chest, upper arms, neck, back, buttocks, and hips. He continues to suffer both emotionally and physically from widespread scarring, including mobility issues and tightness in his chest.

At the time of the incident, the apprentice was wearing a welding helmet, a long sleeve shirt and a branded hoodie supplied by CND. He had supplied the rest of his clothing himself, including leather gauntlets which protected his hands and forearms from the fire.

A WorkSafe investigation found that the hoodie, which was a blend of cotton and polyester, did not offer sufficient protection for welding. It was further revealed that CND did not implement and enforce a clothing policy or requirements for sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), and did not offer the apprentice a leather apron, leather clothing or a full boiler suit.

CND admitted it was reasonably practicable to have implemented a system of work that enforced appropriate PPE, and to have provided supervision to manage the risks associated with welding and ensure workers used the PPE supplied.

The court heard that a month before the incident, the same apprentice’s hoodie had been burned during another welding task, damaging the front pocket.

Government of Western Australia | Big Bell Gold Operations Pty Ltd has been fined $945,000 and ordered to pay $20,000 in costs after a truck fatally struck a worker at its Big Bell underground gold mine.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Westgold Resources Limited, Big Bell Gold Operations pleaded guilty in the Perth Magistrates Court to an offence under the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (WA) of failing to provide and maintain a working environment in which an employee of a contractor was not exposed to hazards. This offence does not indicate that the breach caused the fatal incident. However, it highlights a failure in terms of safe systems of work.

In December 2020, a Big Bell Gold Operations-engaged contractor, Minterra Pty Ltd, was performing mining operations at the Big Bell underground gold mine. During a night shift at the site 24km north-west of Cue, a Minterra employee-operated truck struck a Minterra employee, who died from their injuries.

WorkSafe ACT | Dream Haus Pty Ltd. has been convicted of two Category 2 offences by the ACT Industrial Court Magistrate, resulting in a $400,000 penalty.

An ex-parte hearing concerning Dream Haus has resulted in two guilty verdicts for Category 2 offences under the Work Health and Safety Act.

The charges relate to a serious incident on 2 November 2022, during which Dream Haus engaged in renovation works at a property in Chapman, ACT, disrupting materials containing asbestos. The court found the company failed to comply with its health and safety duties, placing workers and the public at risk.

During sentencing, Magistrate Lawton stated that “there are aggravating features with both… lack of communication was a main factor in both charges… not following their own safe work method statement (SWMS).”

He further noted that “the use of asbestos materials was in construction throughout the ACT for many years, and the costs of preliminary testing is low.”

WorkSafe Victoria | A telecommunications infrastructure company and one of its directors have been convicted and fined a total of $545,000 after the asphyxiation of a worker who was attempting to repair a gas leak at Bentleigh East.

National Infrastructure Solutions Pty Ltd was sentenced ex-parte at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court after being found guilty of two offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The company was convicted and fined $250,000 for reckless conduct endangering persons at a workplace and $250,000 for failing to maintain a safe system of work, while also being ordered to pay $4,210 in costs.

Co-director Robert Felice, 56, was sentenced at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to a single charge of reckless conduct endangering persons at a workplace.

Felice was convicted and fined $45,000 and ordered to pay costs of $4,284.

In January 2023, two National Infrastructure Services workers struck an underground gas pipe while undertaking excavation works on a nature strip in Bentleigh East.

The court heard that instead of notifying the gas company and emergency services, Felice repeatedly directed the workers to continue digging and repair the pipe, aiming to avoid the need for an incident report.

One of the workers entered the excavation several times attempting to clamp the pipe, each time exiting with shortness of breath. The worker entered the excavation a final time, head first, but lost consciousness due to the inhalation of gas in the confined space.

After being dragged from the excavation by his colleague, the worker was transported to hospital for treatment of respiratory arrest, broken blood vessels in one eye, and chest pains due to inhaling gas and resuscitation efforts.

He was further diagnosed with acute stress disorder from the incident.

The court heard both National Infrastructure Solutions and Felice had engaged in reckless conduct that placed another person in danger of serious injury or death from asphyxiation caused by the gas leak.

It was reasonably practicable for the company to have maintained a safe system of work which ensured that, after the gas pipe was struck, all work activities were ceased, the owner of the gas pipe was contacted immediately to stop the leak and conduct repairs, the area was barricaded to keep vehicles and members of the public away, and the workers were evacuated to a safe distance.

Government of Western Australia | A concrete manufacturing company has been fined $580,000 and ordered to pay $6,180 in costs after a worker was seriously injured at its Neerabup batching plant.

Ransberg Pty Ltd (WA Premix) pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace after a waste-pit gate fell on a worker, causing multiple open fractures and an amputation.

Investigators found no mechanism to prevent the gate from falling when lifting chains were detached, despite knowledge of a safer “C channel” support method used at other plants.

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