SafeWork NSW | Steel-Line Garage Doors Australia Pty Ltd has been fined $450,000 in the Industrial Court of NSW as a result of a prosecution by SafeWork NSW.

The proceedings arose from an incident on 10 October 2022, when a worker was seriously injured when they were struck by a forklift.

Steel-Line Garage Doors Australia plead guilty to an offence pursuant to section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) for failing to comply with its duty under section 19(1) of the Act.

Steel-Line Garage Doors Australia Pty Ltd has the right to appeal against the sentence.

WorkSafe Victoria | A residential construction company has been convicted and fined $40,000 over the risk of a fall from height on a building site in Geelong.

Desbo Industries Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to ensure a workplace under its management and control was safe and without risks to heath.

The company was also ordered to pay costs of $4,422.

The court heard the company was engaged as the principal contractor to construct a two-storey residence in the suburb of Grovedale.

In October 2024, a WorkSafe inspector attended the workplace following a report of unsafe work at height practices and observed two contractors installing flooring sheets on the first floor, more than three metres from the ground, without fall protection in place.

Access to the first floor was via an extension ladder in the stair void, where an incomplete attempt had been made to create an exclusion zone using tape.

An investigation revealed the company had three prior interactions with WorkSafe between 2020 and 2024 in relation to the risk of serious injury or death from a fall from height greater than two metres due to inadequate or the absence of any fall protection.

Desbo accepted it was reasonably practicable to reduce the risk at the Grovedale site by restricting access to the first floor until suitable and compliant perimeter guard railing was installed around the perimeter edge and stair void.

WorkSafe Victoria | A poultry farm operator has been convicted and fined $325,000 after a worker was fatally crushed in a conveyer belt at Lethbridge in 2023.

Lemitech Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Geelong County Court after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to ensure that a workplace was safe and without risks to health.

The court heard Lemitech had a conveyor system installed to transport chicken manure from underneath various cages inside a shed at the farm, including a horizontal conveyor belt that took the manure outside.

Workers would sometimes perform work or check the operation of the horizontal belt and adjust its tracking if required, by removing a guard that covered the tail pulley of the conveyor system.

In March 2023, 34-year-old Liam Harrington was performing works on or in connection with the horizontal belt when he became entangled in the rotating components of the unguarded tail pulley and died.

Lemitech admitted it was reasonably practicable to reduce the risk of serious injury or death by installing a fixed interlocked guard with a viewing window on the tail pully or interlocked in-running nip guards over the roller of the tail pulley, or a maintenance jog function to slow the conveyor when the existing guard was removed.

SafeWork NSW | Pendle Ham and Bacon Pty Ltd and PHBC LH Pty Ltd have been convicted and fined $320,000 and $270,000, respectively, in the District Court of NSW as a result of a prosecution by SafeWork NSW.

These proceedings arose from an incident on 22 May 2021, when a worker suffered serious injuries after tripping on a skylight and falling about 10 metres while cleaning a roof above a retail store.

Pendle Ham and Bacon Pty Ltd plead guilty to two offences pursuant to section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, one for failing to comply with its duty to workers under section 19(1), and one for failing to comply with its duty to ensure a workplace is without risk to health and safety under section 20(2) of the Act.

PHBC LH Pty Ltd plead guilty to an offence pursuant to section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to comply with its duty to workers under section 19(1) of the Act.

Both companies have the right to appeal against their sentences.

WorkSafe Victoria | A transport company has been convicted and fined $200,000 after a truck driver was seriously injured while performing high risk work without a licence or supervision.

WVCT Oz Pty Ltd, trading as Western Victorian Crane Trucks, was sentenced in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide information, instruction, training, or supervision to enable an employee to work safely.

The company was also ordered to pay $5,556 in costs.

In September 2024, the driver was using a remote-operated vehicle-mounted crane to unload steel trusses at a Charlemont construction site when the crane locked down because the load was too heavy.

He attempted to manually reposition one of the trusses, as he had previously been instructed, when the crane slewed and the load pinned him to the ground, causing a broken wrist that required a metal plate and 10 screws.

The court heard that the driver did not yet have a high-risk work licence, and this was the first time he had attempted this task on his own, after starting with the company three months earlier.

The court also heard that day before the incident, the driver had told his supervisor he was not comfortable making the delivery by himself, but he was told he would lose his job if he didn’t.

A WorkSafe investigation found it was necessary for WVCT Oz to reduce the risk of workers being struck by a steel frame and seriously injured or killed by supervising employees performing the task if they did not hold a high-risk work licence.

Government of Western Australia | Two mining-related companies and their director have been fined a total of $2.34 million for engaging in unauthorised mining at sites near Leonora and Sandstone in Western Australia.

Gold Valley Iron Ore Pty Ltd, Odell Resources Pty Ltd, and the companies’ sole director, Yuzheng Xie, pleaded guilty in the Perth Magistrates Court to mining without authority, and the director failing to take all reasonable steps to prevent the offence.

For the offences at Malcolm near Leonora, Gold Valley was fined $1.26 million, Odell Resources $90,000 and Mr. Xie $630,000. For the offences at Sandstone, Gold Valley was fined $240,000 and Mr. Xie $120,000. The parties were also ordered to pay $12,500 in costs.

Under the Mining Act 1978, it is an offence to mine without authority. This extends liability to officers of a body corporate, making them personally accountable under the State’s Criminal Code.

Gold Valley is part of a diversified group involved in mining, services, bulk transport and civil contracting. The group’s operations include the Wiluna West Iron Ore Project. Gold Valley owns several subsidiaries, including Odell Resources, which operates a haulage business.

In March 2024, Gold Valley acquired full ownership of the Wiluna West Iron Ore Mine. Before this acquisition, iron ore from the mine was trucked to Geraldton Port for export.

By June 2024, Gold Valley secured an agreement with the Port of Esperance for ore exports. Odell Resources was tasked with hauling ore in stages to Leonora, where it would be transported by rail to Esperance.

To support this operation, Gold Valley selected a site near Leonora for laydown and stockpiling, adjacent to the Malcolm railway siding, which would allow for rail transport.

Under the Mining Act, a miscellaneous licence is required for areas used for ore stockpiling and mine support activities, such as mining roads, truck laydown areas, maintenance and refuelling.

Although Gold Valley applied for this licence on 6 September 2024, the company began mining activities without holding the authority to do so.

Stockpiling and transport activities continued from 16 September to 25 October 2024, with Mr. Xie coordinating the actions of both companies.

In addition to operations near Leonora, Gold Valley operated another unauthorised site near Sandstone between 17 September 2024 and 31 July 2025. This site was used for transporting, stockpiling and transhipping iron ore. It also included facilities for road train parking, maintenance, and refuelling. Ore from the Wiluna mine was transported to Sandstone before being reloaded for export via Geraldton Port.

Gold Valley had applied for a miscellaneous licence for this site, but it had not been granted for these operations or the installation of support facilities.

Operations at Sandstone continued even after the former Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS), now the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE), directed Gold Valley, Odell Resources and Mr Xie to cease activities at the Malcolm site in October 2024. The Sandstone operation was still ongoing up to 31 July 2025, even though the prosecution proceedings for Malcom had commenced in May.

WorkSafe Victoria | A potato supply chain service has been convicted and fined $95,000 after a worker was seriously injured when their foot became trapped in a machine at a Hallam warehouse.

Fiorelli Packing Co 2 Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide or maintain a safe system of work.

The company was also ordered to pay $10,913.68 in costs.

The court heard Fiorelli’s warehouse featured an item of plant known as the potato cutter.

Sweet potatoes would be tipped into the machine’s hopper, then onto a conveyor belt where they would pass through blades and be cut into pieces.

In September 2022, the worker was instructed by his supervisor to climb onto the machine while it was operating and hold a broomstick against the hopper to slow the output of potatoes and spread them on the conveyor belt before they passed through the cutter.

During the task the worker’s foot slipped and became entangled in the rotating blades.

After his supervisor activated the machine’s emergency stop button, the worker remained trapped in the blades and could see part of his foot had been cut off and was located on the conveyor belt. He was eventually freed by emergency services and transported to hospital.

The worker’s foot was unable to be re-attached, ultimately resulting in an amputation of his leg below the knee.

A WorkSafe investigation found that standing on top of the machine while it was operating and using a broomstick to improve product flow was common practice among workers at the warehouse.

The company admitted it was reasonably practicable to have reduced the risk of shearing, cutting, and entanglement by providing an interlocked physical guard or perimeter fence which prevented bodily access to the danger area while the machine was operating, ensuring an isolation procedure, such as a lock-out tag-out (LOTO) system, was in place before workers performed task, and installing emergency stop buttons which were accessible near the danger area of the plant.

WorkSafe Victoria | A healthcare provider has been convicted and fined $230,000 after an aged care resident was injured when her reclining chair failed.

Benalla Health was sentenced at Melbourne County Court after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to ensure persons, other than employees, were not exposed to health and safety risks.

In October 2021, the 93-year-old resident of the Morrie Evans Aged Care facility fell backwards when the back of her reclining chair detached as a staff member tried to move it following an outdoor family visit.

A subsequent X-ray showed fractures to the woman’s rib and spine. In the following days, she developed a chest infection and died a week after the incident.

WorkSafe’s investigation found Benalla Health failed to maintain a system of work for ensuring chairs used for transporting residents were regularly assessed for safe functionality, scheduled for preventative maintenance, and tagged accordingly.

WorkSafe Victoria | A property renovation and maintenance company has been fined $100,000 after a contractor’s fall at a Campbellfield factory left him with catastrophic injuries.

Konstrukteur Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to two charges of failing to ensure people other than employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

The company was fined with conviction and also ordered to pay costs of $5,373.

In April 2023, a 35-year-old labourer and the site supervisor were tasked with installing new corrugated iron sheets as part of roof rectification works at the factory.

The pair, neither of whom were wearing a harness, used an elevated work platform to access the rooftop and began removing the old sheets one by one, each time exposing an open void, which was then covered by a replacement sheet.

After one of the sheets was removed, the supervisor turned his back and did not see the labourer fall 5.5 metres through the void to the concrete floor below.

The labourer was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and placed on life-support before undergoing multiple surgeries. He now requires 24/7 care because of the injuries.

A WorkSafe investigation found that Konstrukteur prepared a safe work method statement (SWMS), but it was not signed off or made available to workers and was not specific to the site.

The court heard none of the workers on site had been provided with training for safe working at height, despite the falls risks associated with the works being undertaken.

The company admitted it was reasonably practicable to have reduced the risk of falls by ensuring the work was performed in line with a prepared SWMS and by ensuring workers used a fall arrest system, such as safety harnesses.

Government of Western Australia | A construction company has been fined $350,000 (and ordered to pay more than $6,600 in costs) over the death of a 19-year-old worker in 2021.

M Construction (WA) Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and was fined in the Perth Magistrates Court.

In November 2021, an employee of PAWS Construction and Maintenance Pty Ltd died after suffering a traumatic head injury when he was struck by a sea container drawbridge ramp weighing around 250kg. At the time he was assisting his supervisor to lower the ramp.

M Construction had engaged PAWS Construction to complete the works, including the lowering of the sea container ramp. PAWS Construction was also prosecuted over the incident and was fined $250,000 in August 2025.

The ramp to be lowered was held in place by two pins. The first pin was removed, and before removing the second pin, the supervisor instructed the worker to stand to the left of the ramp out of the drop zone.

When the second pin was removed the ramp fell quickly to the ground, striking the worker who suffered fatal injuries.

The workers had not been provided with a safe work procedure or instructions for the raising or lowering of the ramp.

A winch was installed to assist with the raising and lowering of the ramp, but it was not maintained and was not operational at the time of the incident.

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