New WA WHS Law Enforced with First Charges Against Businesses

Fourth Breach

Details

The fourth breach also occurred in April of 2022 when a man was allegedly involved in the removal of 41 meters of asbestos fencing between two properties in Beckenham, Western Australia.

Penalties

WorkSafe WA will allege that Justin John Collins carried out work that he was not authorised to do and didn’t hold an asbestos removal license. It was discovered that the breach had occurred after a fencing installer noticed pieces of asbestos on the ground of the properties and subsequently reported it to WorkSafe. The maximum penalty for this offence is $25,000 in fines.

Victorian Breach

Details

Similarly to the new WA WHS law enforced, a roofing manufacturer in Warrnambool has also been convicted and fined $40,000. Uniroll Roofing faced court after it was alleged a worker was instructed to circumvent a machine’s safeguard to clean it. During court proceedings, it was revealed that in April 2022, an employee who only worked at Uniroll Roofing for only a week was asked to operate a metal forming press. When operating the machinery, the new employee observed that the metal sheets had marks on them, so they stopped the machine to clean it. The worker alleged that when he was in the process of doing this, the company’s co-owner told him there was a better way to clean the machine, showing the worker how to bypass the safety guarding while the machine was still operating. Moments later, the cleaning instrument he was using got caught in one of the rollers, pulling his hand into the machine, resulting in his hand being crushed and two of his fingers being degloved.

Penalties

According to WorkSafe Victoria, on the 16^th of May Uniroll Roofing Pty Ltd faced Warrnambool Magistrates Court and was sentenced after they ‘pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to provide or maintain a safe system of work and one charge of failing to provide employees with necessary information, instruction or training’. In the worker’s recovery, they were required to have multiple surgeries and were unable to return to full-time duties until August 2022 when they ceased working for the company. The business was fined $40,000 and was ordered to pay $4207 in costs.

WHS Responsibility of a PCBU

A safe and healthy workplace should be the goal of every employer/PCBU (persons conducting a business undertaking). The WHS rules and regulations require all PCBU to ensure that workers are not injured or harmed at work so far as reasonably practicable.

As a business owner, you are obligated to comply with the relevant workplace health and safety regulations in your field. PCBU’s who do not meet their WHS responsibilities may face severe penalties, including fines and possible jail time as well as increased compensation claims.

Recovery Partners helps both small and large Australian businesses take a more proactive approach to managing risks and hazards in your workplaces. With our assistance, you can protect your staff, meet your WHS obligations and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your WHSMS. We offer a wide range of services to help your business run safely and conscientiously. These services help to safeguard staff wellbeing, productivity and ultimately, profitability.

We maintain workplace safety and health with the assistance of our free Due Diligence Factsheet.