In March 2024 Hallidays Heating and Cooling Pty Ltd were supplying and installing heating and cooling systems in an Ormond townhouse when an employee fell more than three metres, injuring his head and lower back. Despite having appropriate systems in place to prevent falls, on the day of the incident Hallidays Heating and Cooling had not provided employees with the required harnesses to follow the safe system of work.
The injured employee had been working with an apprentice and a subcontractor on the installation task. The injured employee and the apprentice had not been inducted into any SWMS relating to the workplace prior to commencing the work.
The townhouse was at the stage of framing installed but no staircases, with a Platform System covering the internal staircase void to eliminate the risk of a fall. The Platform was designed to serve as a scaffold that could hold workers conducting light work and had a hatch which could be temporarily opened for ladder access.
The three workers were attempting to move a 56kg air conditioner unit up to the first level – the dimensions of the unit prevented them from utilising an existing access point. The injured employee climbed the ladder and removed part of the Platform, leaving the staircase void unprotected.
Tools and equipment were being passed up through the void with nothing preventing the injured employee from falling through the void. He was at times standing with his boots right at the edge of the void or kneeling with his knees right at the edge, about three to five centimetres from the edge.
As the three workers were considering how to move the air-conditioning unit up to level one the injured employee climbed the ladder back up to the first level - on his way back down, he stood on the manhole access hatch of the Platform, which was in a closed position, and felt “something give way”. He fell through the open void, hitting his head and lower back. He landed sideways on the ground with the ladder behind him and his feet were through the studs.
Three days later the apprentice and the subcontractor returned to the site to complete the installation work. Neither were provided with harnesses for working around the exposed drop area.
Hallidays Heating and Cooling were fined $85,000 and a conviction recorded against the company.
WorkSafe have taken successful legal action against 28 duty holders in relation to falls risks from January to June this year, with charges issued against another 34 businesses. In 2024 36 duty holders were prosecuted and an additional 33 duty holders charged over falls risks, resulting in $1.65 million in fines, undertakings and costs. The legal action already taken this year had resulted in court fines, undertakings and costs totalling more than $2.54 million.
Three of the prosecutions in the first six months of this year followed fatal falls. Another 13 resulted from instances where WorkSafe inspectors had caught duty holders in the act, including instances where young apprentices were put at risk.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said “It shouldn’t take a tragedy for employers to wake up and realise that fall prevention is essential on every job – not an optional extra,” Mr Jenkin said.
“For those who think it won’t happen to them, WorkSafe’s message is clear – it takes just one second to fall and change or lose a life forever.”
Mr Jenkin encouraged workers, particularly those in construction, to speak up if they were asked to work at heights without the appropriate safeguards in place.
“We understand that it’s not always easy to say no to your boss, but every Victorian worker has a right to refuse a task if they believe it will put them at risk of injury or death,” he said.
“If you’re asked to climb an unsecured ladder, work from incomplete scaffold, or get on a rooftop without adequate fall prevention – please remember your health and safety should always come first.”
Workers or members of the public with concerns about the controls in place to prevent falls from height at a workplace can contact WorkSafe’s advisory service on 1800 136 089.
Read more: Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings | WorkSafe Victoria