Crowley Roofing Pty Ltd was engaged by a principal contractor to provide roof plumbing services on the construction of two single-storey and three double-story townhouses in Dandenong North. When a WorkSafe inspector visited the site in April 2024 they observed two workers on the roof with no fall protection measures evident.
Neither worker, one a roof plumber leader and the other a second-year apprentice plumber were wearing harnesses and there was no guard railing or other form of fall protection installed along the roof edge. One of the workers was observed standing on the live edge looking at the ground below.
The inspector directed the workers to come down from the roof, which they did by means of a ladder which had no attachment securing the top or the base and therefore was unsecured.
Crowley Roofing was aware before commencing work that the principal contractor had removed scaffolding from the workplace four months previously. The workers sent to the site by Crowley Roofing had not been provided with any alternative fall prevention devices. Whilst they informed the inspector that there was a working at height harness in the company motor vehicle, there was no roof bracket provided to attach the harness to the roof.
The inspector also found that Crowley Roofing had not completed a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) for the high-risk construction work they were performing. They later provided the inspector with an electronic SWMS dated September 2023 which did not adequately identify the risks and control measures relevant to the work being conducted on the day of the WorkSafe inspector’s visit.
Requiring workers to work at heights without adequate protection is a serious breach of an employer’s duty to provide a safe system of work – that the company also exposed an apprentice to this type of poor safety management is concerning. The maximum applicable penalty for such a breach at the time of this offence was approximately $1.7M.
The risks associated with working at heights are very well known in the construction industry and there is a wealth of information, resources and equipment available for employers to safely manage such risks. Employers can find information including compliance codes, checklists, videos and more at WorkSafe Victoria’s Fall Prevention page. You can also find comprehensive falls prevention information on our OHS Reps Prevention of Falls page.
The Dandenong Magistrates’ Court fined Crowley Roofing $10,000 with no conviction.
Read more: Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings | WorkSafe Victoria