A construction company has been convicted and fined $150,000 after a worker fell while cutting a tree branch at a Carrum Downs worksite, resulting in a life-changing spinal injury.
IntraAust Properties Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday 2 November after pleading guilty to a single rolled up charge of failing to provide or maintain a safe system of work, and another charge of failing to prepare a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) for high-risk construction work.
The company was also ordered to pay $13,335 in costs.
In March 2024, a labour hire worker engaged by IntraAust was tasked with removing a large gum tree branch to allow truck access to the construction site. The worker is an experienced and qualified carpenter, not a qualified arborist or a tree removal specialist.
The worker stood on a 3.7-metre A-frame ladder, to reach the 4.5-metre high, 6-metre long branch, and cut it into sections with a chainsaw.
As he was cutting the final section, the branch swung down and struck the ladder, causing him to fall headfirst to the ground.
The worker was taken to hospital with a spinal column dislocation requiring surgery and is now paraplegic.
IntraAust admitted it was reasonably practicable to reduce the risk of injury by engaging a qualified arborist or tree removal specialist to perform the work; providing a temporary work platform such as an elevated work platform (EWP); providing a telescopic long chainsaw to minimise the need to work at height; and preparing a SWMS before work began.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said the company’s failure to implement basic safety measures had devastating consequences.
“This worker’s life has been forever changed as a result of this incident, and it is heartbreaking to know that a few simple safety measures could have prevented it.”
“Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of serious injury and death in the construction industry, despite there being established ways to manage the risks,” Mr Jenkin said. “WorkSafe will continue to prosecute employers who fail to address this well-known hazard.”
To reduce risks when working with trees employers should:
- Ensure a skilled and experienced person carries out a visual assessment of the tree, considering hazards, condition, wind loading, structural integrity and location prior to commencing works.
- Ensure all workers have received information, instruction and training and are deemed by the employer to be able to safely undertake the work.
- Ensure work is conducted from the ground or an EWP wherever practicable, rather than from a ladder or by climbing a tree.
- Ensure appropriate PPE is worn for the task such as helmets, boots, cut-resistant trousers, eye and ear protection, and sun protection.
When undertaking High Risk Construction Work (HRCW), duty holders must:
- Ensure HRCW is not performed unless a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) is prepared.
- Ensure that once a SWMS has been developed, all HRCW work is undertaken in accordance with that SWMS.
- Stop work immediately, or as soon as it is safe to do so, once they become aware a SWMS is not being followed.
- Review the SWMS whenever there is a change in the work being undertaken or if there is an indication that control measures are not adequate.
- A copy of the SWMS must be retained for the duration of any HRCW.
Source: WorkSafe Vic
