Ballooning company fined after worker injured in fall

Yarra Valley hot air ballooning company Global Ballooning Australia Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined $44,000 after a worker was seriously injured in a fall at Dixon’s Creek. The company pleaded guilty to two charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The company was fined $40,000 for failing to provide safe systems of work and $4000 for failing to notify WorkSafe Victoria immediate after an incident. The company was also ordered to pay costs of $9770.

In June 2021, the worker was on a shed roof cleaning gutters when he fell about three metres through a fibreglass skylight to the concrete floor below. The worker sustained a fractured spine and was taken to hospital. It took two days for the company to report the incident to WorkSafe.

The ensuing investigation by WorkSafe found that the company had no system in place for assessing and controlling falls from height. The company also failed to implement fall prevent measures. It was reasonably practicable for the company to provide a safe system for working at height, including ensuring a fall arrest system such as a safety harness was used.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Narelle Beer said falls from height are a leading cause of workplace death and injury across a number of industries. “Last year alone, nine workers tragically lost their lives as a result of a fall from height in Victorian workplaces, while many more suffered serious and life-altering injuries. Each one of these incidents was absolutely preventable and WorkSafe will not hesitate to prosecute employers who ignore the risks of working from heights,” Beer said.

Image credit: iStock.com/Chris Gordon