DFEEST fined after student injured at TAFE campus

The Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology has been fined $120,000 by the Industrial Relations Court after a student was injured in a fall at a TAFE SA campus.

DFEEST, the agency responsible for TAFE, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the student’s safety, failing to provide fall protection and failing to conduct and document a proper risk assessment for the task. Bryan Russell, Executive Director SafeWork SA, said the incident reminds all parties that workplace safety must be a priority and that compliance with the Act is mandatory. “All students and employees can expect that their safety is paramount, and DFEEST has already made moves to ensure that its policies are in line with workplace safety regulations,” Russell said.

The incident occurred at the Gilles Plains campus on 4 November 2009, when a construction student was required to walk across and stand on ceiling beams to help remove a panel. The student lost his footing and fell 4.5 metres through exposed plasterboard to the floor. He broke several bones and suffered serious and permanent injuries. The court found that while DFEEST did conduct an internal investigation and amended its Working at Heights and Hazard Management policies, these did not go far enough to explicitly state the proper safety measures that would be necessary to avoid a similar incident.

“This is a very serious offence. The dangers of working at heights are obvious and the risk could have been simply addressed,” Magistrate Michael Ardlie said. The court fined DFEEST $120,000 (after a 20% discount to account for an early guilty plea and expression of contrition) and also ordered they pay compensation of $20,000 to the student.