Two Adelaide companies have been fined a total of $108,000 after a labour hire worker was seriously injured when he fell 4.6m through a skylight. SafeWork SA prosecuted construction company SA Construct Pty Ltd and labour hire firm Brother Hu Pty Ltd over their failures to ensure the health and safety of their workers under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012.
Both companies were sentenced in the SA Employment Tribunal on 20 November 2024 over the incident, which occurred at the Resthaven Age Care Facility in Bellevue Heights in March 2022. A SafeWork SA investigation found SA Construct had been contracted to remove old roof tiles and replace them with corrugated iron sheeting. Brother Hu, who employed the labourer, was providing workers to undertake the work.
Before starting the project, SA Construct undertook a risk assessment to identify potential hazards – but, critically, it missed the skylight. This was one of several opportunities the company had to properly identify and manage the risk posed by the skylight.
On the day of the incident, two SA Construct workers were removing tiles and placing them in piles. The labourer who was injured was tasked with carrying the tiles to the edge of the roof. Although he was not required to go near either of two skylights on the roof, he somehow fell through one, landing 4.6m onto the floor below.
He suffered a concussion, a fractured scapula, and two fractures to his spine along with other internal injuries. After being released from hospital, the labourer required a further six months of ongoing medical and physiotherapy treatment during which time he was unable to work.
Both companies pleaded guilty in the Tribunal and convictions were recorded. SA Construct was fined $90,000 as well as being ordered to pay prosecution costs and a victims of crime levy totalling $1,647. Brother Hu Pty Ltd was fined $18,000 and ordered to pay $1,647 in prosecution costs and a victims of crime levy.
Both SA Construct and Brother Hu have since introduced a raft of measures to improve work health and safety. SA Construct also provided rehabilitation and return to work support for the injured labourer beyond its legal requirements.
While the facts of this case were nothing unusual (regrettably, falls are not rare in the construction industry), this case highlights the duties on both host employers and labour hire companies to ensure the health and safety of workers placed in labour hire arrangements, by way of appropriate training, directions and risk assessment and management.
This article was written by Chris Morey, Special Counsel and reviewed by Clare Raimondo, Partner.
