$300K fine follows apprentice electrician fatality
After the electrocution of an apprentice electrician and as a result of a SafeWork NSW prosecution, Tiger Electrical Solutions Pty Ltd has been fined $300,000 — Tiger Electrical Solutions pleading 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.
The incident occurred 11 February 2022. An apprentice electrician had accessed the roof space of a residential garage through a manhole, crawled to a junction box and come into contact with live electricity while connecting new cables to the junction box.
The risks associated with working around electrical equipment were well known by Tiger Electrical Solutions, the District Court of NSW found. The court also noted that Tiger Electrical Solutions failed to implement and maintain a safe system of work for undertaking work in roof spaces, specifically the requirement to ensure all electricity in the property was turned off at the switchboard and isolated.
The company also failed to provide information, instruction and training to workers on a safe system of work for entering roof spaces and failed to provide adequate supervision to electrical workers, especially to electrical apprentices, the court noted.
A Work Health and Safety Project Order was also imposed by the court additional to the $300,000 fine; this order requires Tiger Electrical Solutions to fund the development of an animated educational video that highlights the risks of working with electricity, as well as fund promotion of the video via social media.
Responsive sentencing orders such as these are part of SafeWork NSW’s prosecution guidelines, with SafeWork NSW able to recommend additional sentencing orders to the court as an opportunity to build broader awareness, share learnings and further proactively influence behaviour.
“There are well-known risks when working with electrical equipment,” SafeWork Commissioner Janet Schorer said. “It is unacceptable for workers to be exposed to electrical risks due to shortcuts.” Schorer added: “SafeWork NSW reminds all businesses of their duty to ensure their workers are protected when working with live electricity.”
Tiger Electrical Solutions Pty Ltd has the right to appeal against the sentence. In a statement on the prosecution, SafeWork NSW said: “According to Australian Securities and Investments Commission records, Tiger Electrical Solutions Pty Ltd is now known as Tiger Services Group Pty Ltd.”
Read the full judgement here, on the NSW Caselaw website.
Workers who have concerns about workplace health and safety can anonymously contact SafeWork NSW on 13 10 50 or through the Speak Up Save Lives website.
Business owners and workers can access a range of resources to help manage the risks of working with electricity here, on the SafeWork NSW website.
Apprentice electrician death leads to almost $1m in fines
Two lift companies have been fined a total of $930,000 following investigations into the 2021...
Electrician fined after apprentice receives electric shock
An electrical worker has been fined for failing to supervise an apprentice, after the apprentice...
Work health and safety data launched for electricians
Safe Work Australia has released WHS data for electricians to help illustrate the nature of risks...
