In May 2025, E.J. Lyons & Sons Pty Ltd, trading as Lyons Construction, was fined $25,000 without conviction in the Geelong Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to ensure people other than employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.
Following an appeal, the original sentence was set aside on Thursday 17 July, with the Geelong County Court instead ordering the company pay a fine of $50,000 with conviction.
Lyons Construction was also ordered to pay $6,289 in costs.
The court heard that Lyons Construction was the principal contractor for a multi-level construction project in Geelong's CBD and engaged separate subcontractors to erect scaffolding and hoarding at the front of the site.
In December 2021, the scaffolder raised safety concerns when hoarding was attached to the scaffolding that was not designed or engineered to hold and support it.
Despite this warning, the hoarding remained in place for approximately one year.
In December 2022, the scaffolding was removed from the front of the site and, despite further warnings from the subcontractor, the hoarding was left unsecured, cantilevering upwards from its base.
As the site was being prepared for the end-of-year industry shutdown, 16 temporary mesh panels were dismantled and stored behind the hoarding.
About a week later, a section of hoarding measuring 20 metres in length and 3.5 metres in height collapsed, damaging three parked vehicles and narrowly missing a pedestrian.
WorkSafe's investigation found Lyons Construction failed to ensure the hoarding was designed by a qualified structural engineer, installed in accordance with engineering computations, and remained erect and stable at all times.
The court found it was reasonably practicable for the company to implement a number of safety measures, ensuring that the hoarding structure was:
- Designed by a qualified structural engineer to be stable enough to withstand wind forces and impact tests;
- Constructed as a self-supporting system installed according to the engineer's designs;
- Manufactured in accordance with engineering computations to ensure structural integrity; and
- Had sufficient structural capacity to resist applied loads, including wind loading and weight loading.
The company also failed to review and revise any measures implemented to control risks associated with the hoarding when new information became available.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said the company had ignored its responsibility as a duty holder, leaving the safety of pedestrians to chance.
"There are numerous safety measures that regulate the design and building of hoarding on construction sites to control the obvious risk of serious injury or death from incidents like this," Mr Jenkin said.
"People should be able to walk past a construction site and trust that it is up to legal standards and not posing a risk to their health and safety."
