Prosecution Details
| Offender | Morago Nominees Pty Ltd |
| Trading Name | Gavin Constructions |
Charges
| Charge | Charge Number | Offence Date | Date Convicted | Regulation | Section | Penalty Provision | Penalty Imposed | Date Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AR11164/09 | 2 July 2008 | 15th February 2010 | 3.55(1)(a) | 1.16(2)(b)(i) | $4,000.00 | 15th February 2010 |
| Description of Breach(es) | Being a person having control at a workplace, did not ensure that edge protection that complied with Regulation 3.55(5) of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 was provided and kept in place or a fall injury prevention system was provided and in operation when there was a risk that a person could fall 2 metres or more from an edge at the workplace; contrary to regulation 3.55(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 made under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984. |
| Background Details |
The Accused is a construction company that was responsible for the construction of a community centre for the City of Gosnells. This included providing edge protection and ensuring that it was kept in place while the building was being constructed. On Wednesday, 2 July 2008 two WorkSafe Inspectors inspected the workplace where two bricklayers, a labourer, and an apprentice were laying bricks to build a plant room in the middle of the community centre. Bricks had been laid past the height of the first floor concrete slab. There was scaffolding around the outside of the plant room, inside of it, a ground floor concrete slab and a concrete slab which was the first floor of the building. The workers were walking on the scaffolding that surrounded the plant room, across a ramp onto the first floor concrete slab and then onto the scaffold inside the plant room. The scaffolding that surrounded the plant room is called modular scaffolding. When standing on the scaffold the workers were more than 3.5 metres above the ground floor concrete slab. The scaffolding inside the plant room is frame scaffolding. When standing on the scaffold the workers were 3.160 metres above the ground floor concrete slab. When standing on the first floor concrete slab the workers were 2.9 metres above the ground floor concrete slab. Tools and materials such as concrete blocks and cement had to be moved from the ground up to the first floor and inside of the plant room. The workers were at risk of falling more than two metres onto the concrete slab that was the ground floor of the building, and also hitting the bricks and metal pipes. The WorkSafe Inspectors issued a Prohibition Notice to the Accused. It stopped work until edge protection was in place. |
| Outcome Summary | Pleaded Guilty |
| Court | Magistrates Court of Western Australia - Armadale |
| Costs | $2,860.00 |
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Offences committed prior to 1 January 2005, while of limited comparative relevance, can be accessed via the following link.