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 persons who were at the workplace were not exposed to hazards.

Having control of the workplace, Superfine Homes failed to ensure there was adequate edge protection, tagging and testing of electrical equipment, use of RCD to electrical equipment and that there was safe access to all areas at a construction site.

When departmental inspectors attended the site they observed roof carpenters working on scaffold where access/egress was hazardous and persons were at risk of falling more than 3 metres.

The defendant pleaded guilty. Superfine Homes Pty Ltd were originally fined $25,000 by the Perth Court of Petty Sessions Magistrate. On appeal this fined was reduced to $7,500 by the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

The Honourable Justice Scott said inter alia -

"Having taken into account the submissions of both the appellant and the respondent, and in particular having looked at the comparable authorities to which I have referred, I have come to the conclusion that the fine selected by her Workship was beyond and well beyond the appropriate sentencing range. Neither counsel was able to identify any case in which a fine of this magnitude had been imposed and when one takes into account that the appellant was a first offender, it is plain that the fine imposed was outside, and well outside the appropriate sentencing disposition.

On the other hand, it is also clear that the breach of the Act by the appellant was a very serious breach indeed, for the reasons explained by her Worship."