A registered builder has been fined $22,000 (and ordered to pay $900 in costs) after an apprentice fell six metres from trestle scaffolding and was seriously injured last year. Stephen John Gregson – trading as Gregson Constructions – pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and was fined in the Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday. In August 2017, Mr Gregson and...

A State Government agency has been fined $100,000 (and ordered to pay costs) over the death of a remand prisoner crushed between a truck and a wall at Hakea Prison in 2015. Department of Justice (Department of Corrective Services at the time of the offence) pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable care to ensure the safety and health of a person who was not an employee, and was fined in the...

Penalties for breaches of Western Australia’s workplace health and safety laws increased from 3 October 2018. The new penalties are consistent with the national model Work Health and Safety Act (Model Act), with a further 14 per cent increase for inflation since 2010. Examples for a first offence by a body corporate include: Level 1 penalties increase from $50,000 to $450,000. Level 4 penalties...

WorkSafe is conducting a proactive inspection program to look at safety issues in workplaces where scientific testing and analysis is carried out. Inspectors will be looking at safety issues in workplaces conducting non-destructive testing such as radiographic, ultrasonic, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, electromagnetic and visual testing. The program will continue until the end of the 2018/...

WorkSafe continues to participate in roadblock exercises, with the latest one revealing a reasonable level of compliance with fatigue management and related laws. WorkSafe recently participated in a joint roadblock operation undertaken by Main Roads WA. The exercise saw WorkSafe inspectors stationed at the road train assembly area at Northam conducting inspections of commercial vehicles to check...

WorkSafe is conducting a proactive inspection program to look at safety issues in WA’s sports and recreation activity workplaces. The program will continue until the end of the 2018/19 financial year, and will include sports and recreation clubs and large sports and recreation grounds and facilities. WorkSafe Director Sally North said today there had been an increase in the number of long-term...

The posting of racist signs in Pinjin in the Goldfields is resoundingly condemned by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS).

Axedale Holdings Pty Ltd, trading as Shaw’s Cartage Contractors, was fined in relation to the deaths of two labourers. The deaths were caused by falling concrete tilt-up panels at a Perth construction site. Axedale, among three parties charged, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of workers, and that failure causing the death of Joseph McDermott and Gerard Bradley. The fine totalled $...

Building and Energy (formerly EnergySafety) and WorkSafe have issued a reminder on the importance of understanding and avoiding the electrical hazards in roof spaces, with new regulations coming into effect on Monday (14 May 2018). Director of Energy Safety Ken Bowron today cautioned homeowners to be mindful of the electrical hazards in roof spaces. “Homeowners may need to access the roof space...

WorkSafe is conducting a proactive inspection program to look at safety issues in WA’s wine grape growing and winemaking workplaces. The program will continue until the end of 2019, and will include wine grape growing and winemaking workplaces in both metropolitan and regional areas of WA. The program will involve inspectors from both metropolitan and regional teams, and will look at the safety...

WA workplaces are being reminded to ensure they have procedures in place to deal with armed holdups and aggressive behaviour. The reminder comes after a number of armed holdups were committed over recent months. WorkSafe Director Sally North said today there were particular concerns for workers in retail premises. “Retail premises that have extended opening hours are most frequently targeted,” Ms...

WorkSafe is undertaking a proactive inspection program to look at safety issues with scaffolding across the State. The program will continue for the next eight months, and will involve a wide range of workplaces throughout Perth and regional areas of WA. WorkSafe Director Chris Kirwin said today the construction industry had one of the highest number of work-related deaths of all industries, and...