Rodrigues Transport Pty Ltd has been sentenced in the Melbourne County Court this week over a fatal fall from the tailgate of a laundry truck. The company is the second entity to be sentenced over the fatality, reminding employers of their enduring duty to provide their employees with a workplace that is safe and without risks to health, regardless of contracting arrangements.
Rodrigues Transport was contracted by laundry company Ensign Services to provide vehicles and drivers for laundry pickups and deliveries.
In June 2023 a truck driver employed by Rodrigues Transport was performing laundry pick-up and delivery work at Ensign Services’ Dandenong workplace. Following the standard process established in that workplace for unloading/loading laundry he reversed his truck to the workplace’s loading dispatch dock along a series of painted lines that marked out where the driver should stop.
Once in position, the driver lowered the tailgate of the truck until it touched the edge of the loading dock to form a bridge between the truck and the loading dock, went inside to raise the dispatch dock’s roller doors and commence the loading process, then stood on the tailgate of the truck to tie down the laundry trolleys to prevent movement during transit.
A second driver was working at a loading dock nearby and heard a loud thud as the truck driver’s body hitting the concrete floor after falling 1.2m from the elevated tailgate of the laundry truck. The second driver called for help immediately and an ambulance transported the injured driver to the Alfred Hospital. Nineteen days later he passed away from his injuries.
During WorkSafe’s investigation it was discovered that the truck subject to the incident did have safety rails on the tailgate but that they had been removed by Rodrigues Transport prior to the fatal incident.
The Court heard that it was reasonably practicable for Rodrigues Transport to reduce the risk of falls from their trucks by Installing safety rails on the truck's tailgate and devising and implementing a documented Standard Operating Procedure that required the use of tailgate safety rails when performing the task and identified the procedure for erecting the safety rails.
Rodrigues Transport Pty Ltd, now in liquidation, was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court to a fine of $300,000 with conviction.
In October 2025 Ensign Services were sentenced to a fine of $270,000 with conviction for their failures that contributed to the worker’s death. Ensign Services had a duty under the OHS Act to ensure that the means of entering and leaving their workplace was safe, not just for workers, but also for contractors and other parties.
In February 2025 the Sentencing Advisory Council released a report to the Victorian Government making 12 recommendations for reform regarding the sentencing of OHS offences in Victoria. This included significantly increasing maximum penalties for breaching OHS duties in line with community expectations. The Victorian Government is yet to provide a response to this report.
Read more: Transport company fined $330,000 over laundry death | WorkSafe Victoria