Supagas Pty Ltd’s appeal against both their conviction and their $550,000 sentence arising from a serious 2017 incident has been refused leave to appeal by the Court of Appeal.
In December 2017 an employee of New Sector Engineering Pty Ltd collected two gas cylinder bottles (one acetylene and one oxygen) from Supagas’s Bayswater branch. The cylinders were loaded into the enclosed toolbox in the tray of the employee’s vehicle, lying horizontally. Soon after leaving the gas supplier the two cylinders exploded. Nearby cars, homes and overhead power lines were damaged by the explosion, which sent debris flying up to 200 metres away.
The New Sector Engineering employee now requires the use of a wheelchair and has memory loss as a result of multiple traumatic, physical and mental injuries.
The court heard Supagas's breaches had put the safety of seven named individuals and others in the vicinity at the time of the explosion at risk, along with workers at the Supagas site.
An investigation found the likely cause of the explosion was the ignition of an acetylene vapour and air mixture in the ute's fully enclosed and sealed rear compartment, where the unsecured cylinders had been placed on their side rather than in an upright position.
The employee sustained multiple traumatic injuries and remained in hospital for 3 months. He suffered a laceration to his scalp requiring 10 stitches and associated brain injuries including a small subarachnoid haemorrhage, a small right contrecoup contusion and a subdural haematoma. He also sustained 8 fractured ribs, a scapular fracture and a torn rotator cuff. The IP provided an extensive VIS setting out the ongoing impacts of his injuries on his everyday life.
The court heard it was reasonably practicable for Supagas to have systems in place to ensure that customers do not transport gas cylinders from its premises unless they are safely secured in an upright position in a vehicle that is adequately ventilated. Supagas was found guilty on two charges and a fine of $550,000 was imposed.
New Sector Engineering Pty Ltd, the company that employed the worker and owned the ute, was separately convicted and fined $300,000 after pleading guilty to two charges in April 2020.
The Court of Appeals panel of three judges found that the convictions and sentence were appropriate and refused Supagas’s leave to appeal.
Read more: Supreme Court of Victoria - Court of Appeal - Supagas Pty Ltd v The |King [2025] VSCA 106