Government of Western Australia | A freight haulage company and its director were fined $400,000 over a worker’s serious injury.

In April 2021, an RGR Road Haulage employee dragging a container onto a tilt-truck tray suffered serious injuries when a chain snapped. The worker was untrained for the task. RGR Road Haulage Pty Ltd and director Richard Garrick Rowland pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe workplace and causing serious harm; RGR was fined $355,000, Rowland $45,000, plus $6,500 costs.

WorkSafe Victoria | A recycling company was convicted and fined $35,000 after an aerosol explosion injured six workers.

In May 2023, Rose and Co Services Pty Ltd’s aerosol shredder exploded at its Shepparton plant, causing severe burns to six workers. Investigations found pressurised cans were shredded with reduced ventilation and no requirement to empty them first, despite fire recommendations and previous fires.

The company pleaded guilty to workplace safety and dangerous goods offences and was fined $30,000 plus $5,000 and $5,292 costs.

Government of Western Australia | Alcoa was fined $400,000 and ordered to pay $5,536.70 costs after caustic solution burns at its Kwinana refinery.

In September 2022, a shift supervisor at Alcoa’s Kwinana alumina refinery opened a discharge valve during a pump changeover, causing an uncontrolled release of hot caustic solution that burned workers and visiting students. The supervisor left the valve open and the pump was started inadvertently.

Alcoa pleaded guilty to breaching the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) and was fined $400,000 plus costs.

Government of Western Australia | Western Power has been fined $220,000 for the unsafe supply of electricity to a house in Wundowie, north-east of Perth, where two nearby residents received electric shocks and “the entire neighbourhood was at risk,” according to a magistrate.

At Perth Magistrates Court, the network operator pleaded guilty to two offences under WA’s Electricity Regulations 1947 following prosecution by Building and Energy.

The penalty is the largest fine against Western Power under laws that prohibit a network operator from supplying electricity to a premises without ensuring it is safe to do so. It follows seven prior convictions against Western Power for the same type of offence.

The court was told that in November 2022, two Western Power workers attended the Wundowie property where a private electrical contractor had installed a new consumer power pole. One Western Power worker noticed the newly installed meter had incorrect wiring, with the active and neutral conductors transposed, but did not take any action.

The transposed wiring enabled the electric current to bypass safety devices, putting the homeowners and neighbours at risk of electric shock if they touched metallic water pipes or earthed electrical appliances.

Shortly after reconnection, two nearby residents received electric shocks in their shower. Fortunately, they were not seriously injured.

Evidence presented in court also showed Western Power failed to follow its own procedure requiring completion of a notice of completion before reconnection. Although the utility had developed the procedure, it did not comply with it.

In addition to the $220,000 fine, Magistrate Catherine Crawford ordered Western Power to pay costs of $700, noting it was “only a matter of chance” that no serious injury or death resulted given the “extremely high” risk of harm and “the entire neighbourhood was at risk.”

The Northern Territory Supreme Court will hear an appeal from Darwin construction company Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd after it was convicted and fined for two incidents (12 March and 20 March 2020) in which chains snapped while towing an excavator, killing Paul Leach (50).

On 23 August 2024, the company was fined $400,000 and $550,000 concurrently, plus NT WorkSafe’s $70,000 costs and a $1,500 victim levy. The appeal is set for 14 April 2025.

He Co Pty Ltd (formerly Hemisphere Construction) and its director George Khouzame were each fined AU$100,000 plus costs for providing false information to the NSW EPA during a 2023 illegal dumping investigation of asbestos-contaminated waste in Canyonleigh. They must comply with the original statutory notice and a publication order.

Monadelphous Engineering Associates Pty Ltd (Kalgoorlie) was fined $685,000 plus costs after a 648 kg metal frame fell from a telehandler and crushed a spotter in March 2020. The load lacked secure lifting points and training. WorkSafe’s Sally North warned about exclusion zones around mobile plant.

A southern Adelaide electrical company has been fined $300,000 after a worker died when he became trapped in a non-standard pit on 1 June 2022.

JD Finlay Electrical was charged under section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 after failing to identify the pit hazard, provide training, or perform a risk assessment. The worker suffered positional asphyxiation when he leaned into the pit to pull conduit cables and could not escape.

A supervisor was not on site, and no risk assessment or method statement was prepared. The pit cover was not removed to assess conditions beneath.

A Healesville caravan park has been convicted and fined $475,000 after a camper was crushed by a falling tree branch.

Yarra Valley Park Lane Holiday Park Pty Ltd, operator of BIG4 Yarra Valley Holiday Park, was sentenced in Melbourne County Court after a jury found it failed to ensure workplace safety.

In March 2021, a camper inside his tent was fatally injured when a large branch fell on him. Investigators discovered the park had not engaged an arborist since 2015, lacked a tree inspection system and policy, and failed to act on risks.

An inspection of 277 trees identified 137 requiring mitigation within a year. The jury concluded it was practicable to conduct annual arborist assessments and follow their recommendations.

A Queensland demolition company and its director have been fined more than $500,000 for illegally dumping toxic waste, including asbestos, near residential areas.

DESI investigated Asbestos Demolition Specialists in 2020 after finding large amounts of asbestos waste at a property south of Brisbane, near water sources and homes. Despite multiple orders to stop, the company continued disposing and receiving waste.

The company pleaded guilty to nine offences under the Environmental Protection Act, including contravening protection orders and causing material harm. It was fined $400,000 plus a $75,000 licence fee. Director Anthony Palmer pleaded guilty to the company’s failures, fined $100,000 and given a nine-month suspended sentence. Both were ordered to pay legal costs and restore impacted land.

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