Worker's fall results in record $3.4 million workplace manslaughter fine
The second prosecution under Victoria’s workplace manslaughter provisions — introduced in 2020 — has resulted in the largest ever fine for a single offence under the state’s workplace safety laws.
The incident occurred in August 2021, when a bakery had been undertaking ceiling upgrades and engaged three workers to remove large insulation panels suspended in the roof space.
A 53-year-old worker fell approximately four metres to the ground below, sustaining fatal head injuries. Before commencing works, a WorkSafe Victoria investigation found, the company did not refer to any industry standard or guidance material, nor had any control measures in place to reduce or eliminate the risk of a fall from height.
While harnesses were available at the workplace, workers were not required to use them. The company pleaded guilty to a single charge of engaging in negligent conduct that constituted a breach of a duty owed to another person and caused their death.
It was reasonably practicable, WorkSafe Victoria said, for the company to have reduced the risk of serious injury or death by using an independent scaffold system such as a birdcage scaffold.
The company’s failure to do so was negligent because it fell well short of the standard of care that would have been taken by a reasonable person in the circumstances, the court heard. The company, a garlic bread wholesaler, was convicted and fined the record $3.4 million in the Victorian Supreme Court.
“Working at height is one of the most obvious and well-understood workplace risks, with the tragic consequences of non-compliance proven time and time again,” WorkSafe Victoria Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said.
“Failing to protect your workers is beyond inexcusable and WorkSafe will continue to target negligent employers who choose to ignore their legal duties and gamble with workers’ lives.”
To prevent falls from height, WorkSafe Victoria advises that employers should:
- Eliminate the risk by, where practicable, doing all or some of the work on the ground or from a solid construction.
- Use a passive fall prevention device such as scaffolds, perimeter screens, guardrails, safety mesh or elevating work platforms.
- Use a positioning system, such as a travel-restraint system, to ensure employees work within a safe area.
- Use a fall arrest system, such as a harness, catch platform or safety nets, to limit the risk of injuries in the event of a fall.
- Use a fixed or portable ladder, or implement administrative controls.
Information on fall prevention is available here, via the WorkSafe Victoria website.
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