The ABCC is taking court action against the CFMMEU and South Australian official Travis Brook alleging he acted improperly and refused to follow reasonable work health and safety directions when exercising his rights of entry at a Norwood construction site.
Signs displayed at the site entrance advised all visitors to report to the main office before entering the site and included a requirement that all visitors were to be escorted by an inducted person.
Visitors and workers were also required to sign in and out of the site using a QR code. A safety directive also prohibited workers and visitors from using mobile phones in all work areas while walking.
In its statement of claim the ABCC is alleging on 15 December 2021 Mr Brook entered the construction site at 166 The Parade in Norwood ignoring site requirements and safety protocols.
It is alleged that after being confronted by the site manager for being on site without an escort, Mr Brook was asked if he had signed in using the site's QR code, which he falsely claimed he had.
When asked to return to the site office to undertake a site induction, it is alleged Mr Brook refused to do so stating that he had "every right to be [there] and go where [he wanted to]". Mr Brook then continued to walk around the site while speaking on his mobile phone and looking at a second phone.
It is also alleged Mr Brook entered an exclusion zone marked with orange flagging. The site's safety advisor warned Mr Brook that he had walked into a live traffic zone. Mr Brook ignored the warning and proceeded to enter a second exclusion zone.
The ABCC is alleging Mr Brook and the CFMMEU contravened sections 499, 500 and 503 of the Fair Work Act 2009.
The maximum penalty for each contravention of the Fair Work Act is $66,600 for a body corporate and $13,320 for an individual.
