City Way Demolition Pty Ltd was sentenced ex parte in the Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court on Monday after being found guilty of failing to ensure the workplace was safe and without risks to health, and failing, without reasonable excuse, to provide WorkSafe with required information and documents.
The company was also ordered to pay $7,135 in costs.
The court heard that in October 2022, three City Way workers commenced demolition works at the single storey dwelling, including the manual removal of roof tiles by hand.
Witnesses observed at least two people working on the roof, which was more than two metres in height, with no fall protection in place.
During the works, one of the workers fell through a fibreglass sheet on the garage roof, sustaining vertebrae fractures that have left him unable to return to work.
A WorkSafe investigation found it was reasonably practicable for City Way to have reduced or eliminated health and safety risks by using a passive fall prevention device, a work positioning system, or a fall arrest system.
The court heard that following the incident, the company failed to comply with a WorkSafe notice requesting information and documents by the end of March 2023.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said working at height was too well-known a risk for these types of incidents to continue occurring.
"Despite there being clear regulations, extensive guidance, and far too many examples of preventable injuries and deaths, the company chose to bypass fall safety measures altogether," Mr Jenkin said.
"The blatant disregard for safety - by not having any fall protection in place and then refusing to cooperate with WorkSafe's investigation - is very disappointing."
To prevent falls from height employers should implement the highest possible measures from the five levels in the hierarchy of controls:
- Level 1 Eliminate the risk by, where practicable, doing all or some of the work on the ground or from a solid construction.
- Level 2 Use a passive fall prevention device such as scaffolds, perimeter screens, guardrails, safety mesh or elevating work platforms.
- Level 3 Use a positioning system, such as a travel-restraint system, to ensure employees work within a safe area.
- Level 4 Use a fall arrest system, such as a harness, catch platform or safety nets, to limit the risk of injuries in the event of a fall.
- Level 5 Use a fixed or portable ladder, or implement administrative controls.
