The Department of Education has been fined $150,000 after a 15-year-old student suffered the amputation of three fingertips while using an unguarded guillotine during a jewellery design class.
The Department of Education was convicted and fined in the Wodonga Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to two charges under s.23 of the OHS Act, relating to its duty to ensure people other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks.
The incident occurred at Beechworth Secondary College in February 2024. The student and three classmates were participating in a jewellery design class when they decided to use a manually operated guillotine to cut a piece of brass. While the student held the metal at the rear of the machine, with his fingers near a shear point, another student activated the foot pedal.
The guillotine's beam dropped, amputating three fingertips on the student's left hand. The student was airlifted to the Royal Children's Hospital, where he spent nine days in hospital.
WorkSafe Victoria’s investigation identified a number of factors contributing to the incident:
· The guillotine was kept in an unlocked storeroom.
· The guillotine had no guarding to prevent access to its rear danger area.
· No students had been assessed as competent to operate the machine, yet students were permitted to access it.
· There was no teacher present when the incident occurred.
The Department of Education admitted that it was reasonably practicable to reduce the risk through several straightforward controls. These included providing guarding that prevented access to the danger zone, keeping records of students trained in safe operation, restricting use to trained students and providing adequate supervision.
The court noted the particular challenges involved in managing safety in an educational environment, where students vary in their competencies and experience. While the Department of Education had taken significant steps after the incident, including replacing the machine and reviewing operations across the state, the court observed that these measures could not undo the consequences of the breach.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said machinery could seriously injure even experienced workers and that training, guarding and supervision were essential, particularly in learning environments.
The incident demonstrates that providing hazardous machinery in a school must be accompanied by effective safety systems to control access, prevent contact with dangerous moving parts, ensure users are competent and provide supervision appropriate to the risks.
Guidance on managing the hazards presented by machinery is available at WorkSafe, including:
The Victorian Government has finally responded to the Sentencing Advisory Council’s 12 recommendations for reform regarding the sentencing of OHS offences in Victoria and legislated to increase maximum penalties for aggravated breaches of Section 21 of the OHS Act. The recommendation to increase all general duty offences is accepted ‘in-principle’. The Government will review effectiveness of the new penalties and consider further increases, however, there is no clear implementation timeline on this reform.
Read more: $150,000 fine after student's fingers severed by guillotine | WorkSafe Victoria