An electrical company has been convicted and fined a total of $70,000 after putting workers at risk of a near six-metre fall at a Dandenong building site.
Advantage Electrical Group Pty Ltd was sentenced ex-parte in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Monday 12 October after being found guilty of two charges of failing to provide a safe working environment.
The company was convicted and fined $40,000 for failing to reduce the risk associated with falls and $30,000 for failing to prepare a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS), while being ordered to pay $5,266 in costs.
In February 2025, a WorkSafe inspector observed two workers installing solar panels on the roof of a two-storey residential property with no guard railing or other falls protection in place. The ladder used to access the roof was unsecured and the men were working at a height of 5.79 metres with no SWMS in place.
Two improvement notices were issued after conversations with the company’s director revealed that he knew there was no fall protection in place.
The court heard Advantage Electrical Group had also previously failed to address fall from height risks and SWMS requirements at building sites at Cheltenham in January 2025 and Clyde North in November 2021.
It was reasonably practicable for the company to have implemented fall protection measures, such as perimeter guard railing, and the company was required to have a SWMS when performing high risk construction work.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said the company’s actions had put the two workers at serious risk of injury or death.
“Falls from height remain one of the biggest causes of death and serious injury in the Victorian construction industry, and failing to have appropriate fall protection measures in place is completely unacceptable,” Mr Jenkin said.
“Employers must understand their responsibilities when working from heights and properly manage the risk of falls through a Safe Work Method Statement so that their workers return home safely.”
To prevent falls from height employers should:
- Eliminate the risk by, where practicable, doing all or some of the work on the ground or from a solid construction.
- Use a passive fall prevention device such as scaffolds, perimeter screens, guardrails, safety mesh or elevating work platforms.
- Use a positioning system, such as a travel-restraint system, to ensure employees work within a safe area.
- 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.
- 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
