An organisation that failed to act on a serious risk identified in an audit has been fined $160,000 over a death, while two related businesses have been fined a total of $250,000 for unsafely failing to comply with engineering drawings for a major project, and disregarding a regulator's request for information.
Two PCBUs that drafted and approved the design of a structure, which subsequently collapsed, have been convicted and fined for WHS contraventions, with a magistrate highlighting the safety value of the "humble check list".
Three companies and an individual face maximum fines totalling more than $10.5 million, in what could be the first finalised prosecutions under Western Australia's version of the national model WHS laws.
An appeals court has rejected a PCBU's claim that its fine over a fatality involving a ladder was manifestly excessive. The PCBU contended the evidence did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the death was a manifestation of its WHS breach.
A recent ruling upholding the sacking of a worker, who failed to disclose a longstanding health issue, shows that holding employees to account for complying with their own health and safety duties forms part of an employer's obligations, a senior safety and employment lawyer says.
A small business and a government department have entered into WHS undertakings after a "volunteer" was seriously injured in a fall. The department has also committed to spending millions on a new WHS reporting system for its 31,000 employees.
A PCBU has been convicted and fined $180,000 after a visiting contractor leant on an unsecured fence in a restricted area and fell into a pit. A judge found the PCBU failed to comply with a Code of Practice requirement to ensure the fence could withstand the force of a person falling or leaning against it.
