In December 2020, inspectors from WorkSafe visited a construction site in Fitzroy North and discovered several safety issues. They issued nine improvement notices to the company, ‘896 Fitzroy.’
‘896 Fitzroy’ company fixed the issues over the next two months.
In June 2021 an investigator arrived at the workplace to follow up on some matters but was unable to locate the duty holder, despite showing their ID and asking for help from three men working on site. The men ignored the investigator, who subsequently called their manager. The offender commenced yelling at the investigator, grabbing their phone, and pushing them.
The WorkSafe Investigator feared they were going to be pushed down the stairs of the building site by the offender who was screaming at the investigator to leave, claiming the investigator had no right to be there.
Fearing for their safety, the investigator left the workplace with the offender following closely behind. The investigator called the police, but the offender had subsequently left the scene.
The accused pleaded guilty in court and received a 12-month good behaviour bond, had to write an apology to the inspector, donate $8,000 to charity, and pay $5,000 in costs.
