SG Formwork Pty Ltd and Lubeca Pty Ltd were sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 18 November after each pleading guilty to a single charge under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
SGF was fined $31,000 without conviction for failing to provide or maintain a safe working environment, and ordered to pay $5,276 in costs.
Lubeca was fined $29,000 without conviction for failing to give adequate information on the conditions necessary to ensure the safety of plant it had supplied to a workplace, and ordered to pay $3,898.50 in costs.
The court heard SGF was engaged to perform concrete structure works at the site and engaged Lubeca to design, certify and supply a jumpform which included a scaffold system consisting of hanger brackets and planks that created temporary walking platforms.
The certified design of the scaffold required the hangers to be fixed to wall forms with nails.
Lubeca delivered the jumpform to the site but did not inspect it or supply any information to SGF on how to install or use the scaffold system.
In May 2023, a worker was walking across the scaffold when it failed. He fell more than two metres to the jumpform floor, and the plank he had been standing on landed on top of him.
The worker was transported to hospital with a fractured lower back and spine, a fractured knee and a torn knee ligament.
WorkSafe's investigation found the scaffold was incomplete due to hanger brackets not being securely fixed to the wall form - some had only a single nail or no nail at all - and because the scaffold had no perimeter protection in the form of handrails installed.
SGF admitted it was reasonably practicable to have ensured work was only carried out from a complete scaffold.
Lubeca admitted it was reasonably practicable to have provided adequate information in relation to the installation of the scaffold - namely that the scaffold hanger brackets were to be securely fixed to the wall form, that scaffold planks were to overhang the end hangers by two metres, and that all fixings were to be inspected for free movement and all handrails in place before the scaffold was used.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin urged employers, particularly those in construction, to be more proactive in managing fall risks.
"Falls from height are the number one cause of death in the construction industry, yet there are still duty holders who fail to take the most basic safety steps such as providing instructions or ensuring a scaffold is completely safe before allowing it to be used," Mr Jenkin said.
"It's both naïve and unacceptable to assume safety will take care of itself and WorkSafe won't hesitate to prosecute those who fail to do everything in their power to protect workers from the devastating consequences of falls."
Steel fixing company Coconut PT Pty Ltd, which employed the injured worker, was convicted and fined $60,000 in relation to the incident in September 2025.
