Two companies in New South Wales have received hefty fines in recent weeks because of serious breaches of workplace safety regulations with regard to working at height.

In recent weeks, SafeWork NSW has secured prosecutions and hefty fines against two separate employers – each in regard to working at height incidents which occurred in 2022.

On December 2, Matthew McCourt, the sole director and company secretary of Always Energy Pty Ltd, was convicted and fined $101,250 in the District Court of NSW as a result of a prosecution by SafeWork NSW.

The proceedings arose from an incident in June 2022, when 22-year-old apprentice electrician Oscar McGuire who was employed by Always Energy fell about three meters off the roof while installing solar panels on a single-storey home that was under construction.

As a result of his fall, McGuire needed to undergo surgery for a right wrist fracture and a left olecranon fracture.

He also suffered dental injuries including loose and chipped teeth.

As a result of his injuries McGuire’s ability to perform physical work is now severely restricted.

As a result, his dream of one day wanting to run his own electrical business has been taken away from him, he has been forced to choose a different career path and his future with limited mobility and possible further surgery remains uncertain.

At a personal level, McGuire and his wife are currently reconsidering whether to have children as a result of his physical limitations. He is also limited in hobbies that were previously a large part of his life: weight-lifting, bike riding, surfing and fishing.

Courtesy of mental scars, meanwhile, McGuire suffers extreme fear of heights, panic attacks and nightmares, which has led him to require ongoing psychological treatment.

In the District Court of NSW, it was found that employer’s conduct fell short in several areas.

Prior to the incident, there were insufficient safeguards to ensure adequate safe work procedures for the work.

These would have included documented installation instructions, instructions requiring fall protection to be installed in the appropriate manner/order, prior to accessing the roof.

Prior to commencing the work, Always Energy could have obtained pre-installation documents including roof plans, sketches and aerial photographs to enable workers to determine, from the ground, where to install solar plans, edge protection and anchor points.

However, McCourt did not sufficiently require, arrange or direct that a safe work procedure for the work was developed, implemented or enforced.

Also, McGuire informed SafeWork NSW that he could not recall undertaking training in any of the items listed above and that he had never received training in working at heights.

McCourt plead guilty to an offence pursuant to section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to comply with his duty as an officer of a company under section 27(1) of the Act.

Meanwhile, in another judgement handed down on December 11, equipment hire company Allcott Equipment was fined $90,000 arising out of an incident in May 2022 when it hired out two sets of incomplete and unsafe scaffolding for a licensed builder to use when installing a roof on a two-storey residence and granny flat in Box Hill.

The scaffolding that was provided was incomplete as it was missing planks on both working decks.

The incomplete scaffolding exposed both workers to the risk of a fall from a height of approximately 6.2 meters.

The latest incidents come as falls from heights remain a serious cause of injury and fatality on work sites including in construction.

Last year, 24 workers across Australia were killed as a result of falls from height. This made falls from height the second highest cause of all workplace fatalities during the year behind vehicle incidents.

According to Safe Work Australia the best way to avoid falls from heights involves work being either carried out on the ground or on solid construction.

If that’s not possible, you must provide and maintain a safe system of work to provide adequate protection from falls.

This includes providing:

• a fall prevention device – for example, barriers, scaffolding, elevating work platforms.
• if that’s not possible, a work positioning system – for example, an industrial rope access system.
• if that’s not possible, a fall arrest system – for example, a safety net or catch platform.

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