On 30 October 2023 a Director of a solar power company was sentenced in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court for a breach of section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (‘the Act’), having failed to comply with his health and safety duty pursuant to section 27 of the Act.

The defendant was the sole director of a company that had been subcontracted to install solar panels on the roof of a warehouse on Simpson Street Beerwah (‘the warehouse’) in July 2018. The warehouse roof was constructed primarily of sheet metal interspersed with a number of translucent polycarbonate or fibreglass roof sheets that were brittle and in poor condition.

On 9 July 2018 one of the company’s workers was on the roof to install the aluminum rails which the solar panels would be affixed to. These rails were three metres long and weighed a couple of kilograms each. Another worker was standing on a ladder handing the rails up to the worker on the roof who then carried them along the roof three or four at a time to the installation location.

The worker on the roof had successfully completed approximately two or three trips when, whilst carrying the next load, he tripped and landed with his foot on a translucent roof sheet. The roof sheet broke and the worker fell approximately 7 metres to the warehouse floor. The worker suffered significant injuries including a broken wrist, fractured elbow, tendon tears, ligament damage and a wedge fracture to his spine.

The defendant entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced by Magistrate Stjernqvist.

In arriving at the sentence, his Honour took into account the maximum penalty for the offence, the objective seriousness of the offending, the probable risk to the worker and the steps not taken to reduce the risk. His Honour further had regard to the principles outlined in section nine of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) and the surrounding circumstances.

Whilst his Honour noted that general deterrence was relevant, he considered there had already been a modicum of specific deterrence endured by the defendant. His Honour noted the loss of the defendant’s business (through its insolvency) and his personal bankruptcy, both of which arose due to a loss of contracts after the incident. His Honour also had regard to the fact the defendant was no longer the director of any company as he was at the time of the incident.

The fact that the injured worker was the defendant’s stepson and that the defendant had assisted him post incident was also taken into consideration.

In mitigation, his Honour took into account that the defendant had entered a plea of guilty, cooperated with the investigation and had a lack of prior convictions. The Court further accepted there were significant issues regarding the defendant’s capacity to pay a substantial fine.

His Honour imposed a fine of $7,500 for the offence, ordered that costs of $1,079.95 be paid and exercised his discretion not to record a conviction.

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