On 19 January 2024, a company and its director were each sentenced in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court for breaching section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (‘the Act’) when a worker fell 9.8 metres through corroded roof sheeting and landed on a concrete floor sustaining serious facial and fracture injuries.

The company operated a stock feed manufacturing and sales business in the Rockhampton area. The director worked as General Manager and was in charge of the operations of the business and all workers ultimately reported to him in his role. The company employed a number of staff in a variety of management, process work and maintenance positions. It owned and operated a variety of equipment utilised in the manufacturing process including a bucket elevator/vertical conveyor which was used to transfer product between two storage bins.

Located within the workplace were a variety of buildings and structures some of which had platform walkways, or catwalks, located above the roofs. These catwalks are accessible to various workers, including maintenance workers carrying out work duties. One of these buildings (the Mill) had, for a lengthy period of time, some two years prior to the incident occurrence, been leaking in periods of rain and the leaking had become progressively worse the 12 months prior to the incident occurrence. The roof leaked as it had holes in it due to being corroded. In August 2021, the director organised and engaged a roofing contractor to install new roof sheeting to the mill (which was to occur over 4 days) with work occurring on 3 and 4 August 2021 before the contractor was called to an urgent job at the Stanwell Power Plant. The contractor was due to return to complete the works on 27 August 2021. The director was aware the roof repairs had not been completed though staff were not told there was some old roof sheeting yet to be replaced.

On 26 August 2021 workers discovered a bucket elevator/vertical conveyor was not moving. Maintenance workers investigated the malfunction and established that the conveyor was jammed in an area at its top and made their way to the area of the bucket elevator/vertical conveyor above the roof by accessing ladders from the mill floor and then onto catwalk platforms. The damage to the elevator was located under the work platform/catwalk and towards the pitch of the roof and to gain access the workers climbed over the rail of the catwalk platform and on to the old roof sheeting. There was no fall from height controls in place. The workers carried out repairs for a couple of hours on the hole in the elevator, working from the catwalk platform and from the old roof sheeting. The work was not able to be carried out without being located on the old roof sheeting.

During the course of the repairs a worker moved out from where he was under the catwalk and stood up. He took a step towards the catwalk and felt the roof sheeting crack and give way underneath him. He fell a distance of 9.802 metres onto the concrete floor below. As he fell his face struck a cable tray located beneath the roof sheeting.

The injured worker sustained facial fractures, including comminuted fractures to the right side of his jaw; chest injuries; spinal fractures to the T2-T5 vertebrae; fractures to his left leg including compound fracture to his left femur and fracture to his knee cap; fracture to his right wrist and elbow joint.

The investigation established that the injured person had been on the corroded roof on two prior occasions over the previous 4 months when he was instructed to carry out repairs without any fall from height controls in place. The investigation further established the director was not aware workers were accessing the old roof sheeting to carry out repairs.

In sentencing her Honour observed the breach involved a significant fall from height with the worker suffering significant injuries. Her Honour noted the victim impact statement referred to on-going issues in the recovery for the victim. Her Honour referred extensively to the statement of facts to outline the circumstances of the offending accepting there had not been any controls implemented by the company for the conduct of the work at height including no safe work method statement, no risk assessment, no information to workers regarding the incomplete repair to the roof or instruction to workers not to access that area. This included no signage to alert workers to the hazard. Her Honour noted two workers were working on the roof to carry out the repair and that the injured worker had accessed the roof on two prior occasions to undertake repairs. Her Honour accepted that neither the company or its director had any previous convictions; that each had cooperated with the investigation and entered a timely plea of guilty. Her Honour referred to the character references tendered on the director’s behalf which outlined his contributions to the community and also spoke to his excellent character. Her Honour exercised her discretion not to record a conviction in respect to both matters.

OWHSP contact: enquiries@owhsp.qld.gov.au