WorkSafe charges builder over fatal fall at construction site

WorkSafe Victoria has charged Ourarchi Pty Ltd for breaching section 26(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that the workplace was safe and without risks to health, after a worker died following a fall at a residential construction site in Templestowe in April 2020. The 26-year-old man died in hospital from head injuries suffered when he fell more than two metres from scaffolding onto a concrete floor.

The company has also been charged under section 38(1) of the OHS Act for failing to notify WorkSafe immediately after becoming aware that an incident had occurred. WorkSafe also alleges that the company breached section 39(1) of the OHS Act by failing, without reasonable excuse, to ensure that the site where the incident occurred was not disturbed.

The matter will be addressed during a filing hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 11 May 2022.

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