Prosecution Details

Being a person who had control of a workplace where persons who were not its employees worked, failed to take such measures as were practicable to ensure that the workplace was such that person who were at the workplace were not exposed to hazards.

The construction site was a refurbishment of a warehouse where partial demolition and stripping of the existing structure, and construction of 13 new housing units, was being undertaken by the defendant.

The main hazard in relation to this prosecution was that objects or persons fall from a height. It was considered practicable for the following measures to have been taken:

(a) provision and maintenance of appropriate edge protection on the first floor and roof deck in areas where there were open edges and voids;
(b) provision and maintenance of appropriate handrails and kickboards on scaffolding; and
(c) provision of instruction to persons entering the workplace not to alter or remove any edge protection, handrails or kickboards without first having obtained the permission of a person authorised on behalf of Gatt Constructions Pty Ltd to grant such permission.

The defendant pleaded not guilty.