Hallidays Heating and Cooling Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace by failing to eliminate or reduce fall risks and ensure work was performed in accordance with a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS).
The company was fined without conviction and ordered to pay costs of $4,264.
The court heard that in March 2024, the 24-year-old apprentice and two other workers were installing heating and cooling in a double-storey townhouse under construction.
At the time, an internal staircase had not yet been built, leaving a three-metre void between the upper and ground floors, with a platform installed over the top providing access through a hatch door and a ladder.
In order to make space for air conditioning units to be hoisted up, the apprentice removed part of the platform, leaving the void exposed and unprotected.
While on the upper floor, the apprentice stood on the closed hatch and felt something give way. He fell backwards through the void, striking his head and lower back on the ground below. He was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
A WorkSafe investigation found that the SWMS prepared for the job required workers to be harnessed before removing any part of the void platform.
It was also found that the apprentice had not received a SWMS induction for the task, and that the document had not been signed by the three workers.
The company admitted it was reasonably practicable to have reduced the risk of falls by ensuring the work was performed in line with a prepared SWMS and by finding an alternative process to transport the units without removing the platform, or by ensuring workers used a fall arrest system, such as safety harnesses, whenever the platform was removed or left open.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said it was disappointing that fall prevention measures were not implemented given how many tragic falls and near-misses the construction industry sees.
"The risks associated with falls from height are well-known, so there is no excuse for employers failing to protect their workers - especially young workers who are new to the industry," Mr Jenkin said.
"Instead of being treated with extra care due to his inexperience, this young man did not receive a SWMS induction and was working centimetres from a live edge without a harness. It is unacceptable."
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.
