Proform Roofing (Vic) Pty Ltd was found guilty of nine offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations on Thursday 12 February, and fined a total of $700,000.
The company was sentenced ex parte in the Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court to an aggregate fine of $350,000 for failing to use passive fall prevention devices and fall protection, and for failing to have a safe work method statement (SWMS) across three sites in Fraser Rise and Clyde North.
The court also imposed an additional aggregate fine of $350,000 for offences at a Mickleham construction site for failing to have a safe system for working at height and failing to perform high risk construction work in line with a SWMS at a construction site in Mickleham.
The company was also ordered to pay costs totalling $12,965 for the two matters.
The court heard that Proform was engaged to install steel roofing at three sites in Fraser Rise and Clyde North. In April 2023, a WorkSafe inspector visited the Fraser Rise construction site, following a complaint about lack of fall protection. The inspector saw a worker on the roof without perimeter guard railing or safety harnesses in place. The worker said no SWMS had been prepared, despite working at heights of 2.9 and 3.2 metres.
Later that month, an inspector responding to another complaint observed two workers at a Clyde North construction site on a roof without a fall prevention system or perimeter guard railing. The inspector issued an interim direction and notice requiring Proform to stop roofing works until the company provided a safe system of work.
However, the following day the inspector again saw two workers installing roof sheets without any fall protection - including one who was working the day before.
The same month, a WorkSafe inspector observed two workers on another construction site in Clyde North installing roof sheets on townhouses without fall prevention equipment. All were working at a height of more than two metres, and a SWMS was not present at the workplace.
In July 2024, a WorkSafe inspector responding to a complaint about a townhouse construction site in Mickleham saw two workers on the lower roof installing roof battens without fall protection in place. Both workers were at risk of falling three metres and no SWMS was available.
The court heard it was reasonably practicable for the company to have implemented fall protection measures such has handrails, perimeter guardrails, harnesses or scaffolding, as well having a SWMS where appropriate and performing high risk construction work in accordance with it.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said the hefty fines sent a clear message to employers who repeatedly ignored their health and safety obligations.
"One working at height offence is unacceptable. Nine offences - especially after multiple WorkSafe interactions and improvement notices - show a disturbing disregard for workers' lives."
"We won't wait for a worker to fall before taking strong enforcement action - especially when duty holders flout safety obligations even after multiple warnings."
To prevent falls from height employers should implement the highest possible measures from the five levels in the hierarchy of controls:
- Level 1 Eliminate the risk by, where practicable, doing all or some of the work on the ground or from a solid construction.
- Level 2 Use a passive fall prevention device such as scaffolds, perimeter screens, guardrails, safety mesh or elevating work platforms.
- Level 3 Use a positioning system, such as a travel-restraint system, to ensure employees work within a safe area.
- Level 4 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.
- Level 5 Use a fixed or portable ladder, or implement administrative controls.
When undertaking High Risk Construction Work (HRCW), duty holders must:
- Ensure HRCW is not performed unless a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) is prepared.
- Ensure that once a SWMS has been developed, all HRCW work is undertaken in accordance with that SWMS.
- Stop work immediately, or as soon as it is safe to do so, once they become aware a SWMS is not being followed.
- Review the SWMS whenever there is a change in the work being undertaken or if there is an indication that control measures are not adequate.
- A copy of the SWMS must be retained for the duration of any HRCW.
