Coldline Refrigeration Management Pty Ltd and director James Megalli have been convicted and fined a total of $164,500 in the Industrial Court of NSW as a result of a prosecution by SafeWork NSW.
The proceedings arose from an incident on 25 October 2022, when five workers suffered serious injuries after falling about 3.6 metres while installing a compressor of an ice machine in the roof space above a cool room when the ceiling collapsed.
Coldline Refrigeration Management pleaded guilty to an offence pursuant to section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to comply with its health and safety duty to workers under section 19(1) of the Act, and an offence pursuant to section 46 of the Act for failing to consult, co-operate and co-ordinate with SFS Management Pty Ltd, who also held a health and safety duty in relation to the installation.
The company was fined a total of $152,500.
Mr Megalli, who was the sole director of Coldline Refrigeration Management at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to an offence pursuant to section 32 of Act for failing to exercise due diligence as an officer of the company under section 27(1) of the Act. He was fined $12,000.
The judgments against Coldline Refrigeration Management and Mr Megalli have been published on the NSW Caselaw website.
In October 2025, SFS Management Pty Ltd was convicted and fined a total of $500,000 in the Industrial Court of NSW in relation to the same incident on 25 October 2022.
SFS Management Pty Ltd, which also employed workers involved in the incident pleaded guilty to two offences.
The first offence was pursuant to section 32 of the Act for failing to comply with its health and safety duty to workers under section 19(1) of the Act.
The second offence was pursuant to section 46 of the Act for failing to consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities with Coldline Refrigeration Management.
The offenders have the right to appeal against their sentences.
