A group of construction companies have been convicted and fined a total of $100,200 for failing to address risks from falls after a worker fell more than three metres through a skylight void.
In May 2026, KZ Construction Group Pty Ltd and Kerimov Constructions Pty Ltd were both fined $20,000 without conviction and Calibre Construction Victoria Pty Ltd was fined $10,000 without conviction in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to two charges each of failing to provide a workplace that was safe and without risks to health.
Following an appeal, the Melbourne County Court set aside the original sentences on Wednesday 23 September, instead convicting the three companies and imposing fines of $40,000 each for KZ Construction Group and Kerimov Constructions and $20,200 for Calibre Construction Victoria.
The three companies were also ordered to pay the originally imposed costs of $2,736 for KZ Construction and $3,123 for both Kerimov and Calibre.
The court heard the three companies had been engaged as part of the development of five multi-storey townhouse units at a site in Footscray.
In April 2024, an apprentice carpenter was working on the first level of one of the units when he fell 3.24 metres through a skylight void to the ground floor, suffering a brief loss of consciousness and minor injuries.
WorkSafe inspectors attended and issued several prohibition notices after determining the injured man and his co-workers had been working at heights with unprotected live edges, skylight and stair voids on the first level. Guard rails and void coverings were installed later that month before work at the site resumed.
In June 2024, a WorkSafe inspector returned to the site and observed two workers on the second level of a unit at a height of six metres with inadequate fall protection in place. Additional notices were issued, and the companies installed guard rails on the first and second levels of all five townhouses the next day.
It was reasonably practicable for the three companies to eliminate or reduce the risk of falls by installing suitable and compliant guard railing and covering all unprotected voids.
Calibre also admitted it failed to perform work in accordance with a safe work method statement (SWMS).
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said failing to address the risks of falls especially after a workplace incident was completely unacceptable behaviour.
“Maintaining a system of work that eliminates or reduces the risk of injuries is critical to ensuring workers are doing their jobs safely, especially when working from heights,” Mr Jenkin said.
“Falls from heights remains one of the most common causes of serious injury and death in Victorian workplaces and we will continue to prosecute those who fail to keep workers safe.”
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.
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
