WorkSafe has charged dozens of businesses for breaching working at height safety standards in the first half of 2025, as the crackdown to prevent disastrous falls continues.
The charges issued against 34 Victorian businesses are in addition to successful legal action completed against another 28 duty holders in relation to falls risks – resulting in court fines, undertakings and costs totalling more than $2.54 million, from January to June this year.
This is in contrast to the 33 duty holders charged and 36 prosecuted by WorkSafe over falls risks – resulting in $1.65 million in fines, undertakings and costs – for the entirety of 2024.
Among those facing new charges are a transport company and a commercial laundry operator charged after a driver died following a fall from a truck’s elevated tailgate at Dandenong South in June 2023.
A further 13 businesses have been charged over incidents in which workers were seriously injured by a fall. Another 19 will face court after WorkSafe inspectors spotted them doing the wrong thing during routine inspections – including three business who have been charged for separate falls safety breaches two years in a row.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said falls resulting in death or horrific injuries were still far too common, prompting inspectors to increasingly refer duty holders for legal action, regardless of whether an incident had taken place.
“It shouldn’t take a tragedy for employers to wake up and realise that fall prevention is essential on every job – not an optional extra,” Mr Jenkin said.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’ve done it a thousand times before, every time you send someone to work at heights without proper fall prevention, you’re putting their life at risk.”
“For those who think it won’t happen to them, WorkSafe’s message is clear – it takes just one second to fall and change or lose a life forever.”
Tragically, three prosecutions in the first six months of this year followed fatal falls. Another 13 resulted from instances where WorkSafe inspectors had caught duty holders in the act, including instances where young apprentices were put at risk.
From January to June this year, 683 people have lodged WorkCover claims as a result of a fall from height – with a quarter (174) of those injured working in the construction industry.
Other industries still experiencing falls from height injury include manufacturing (62), health care and social assistance (59), arts and recreation services (59), transport, postal and warehousing (54), and education and training (52).
Mr Jenkin encouraged workers, particularly those in construction, to speak up if they were asked to work at heights without the appropriate safeguards in place.
“We understand that it’s not always easy to say no to your boss, but every Victorian worker has a right to refuse a task if they believe it will put them at risk of injury or death,” he said.
“If you’re asked to climb an unsecured ladder, work from incomplete scaffold, or get on a rooftop without adequate fall prevention – please remember your health and safety should always come first.”
Workers or members of the public with concerns about the controls in place to prevent falls from height at a workplace can contact WorkSafe’s advisory service on 1800 136 089.
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.
Source: WorkSafe Vic
