In a case involving the death of a camper by a falling tree branch at a Victorian caravan park, the Victorian County Court has rejected the employer’s attempt to block evidence. In March 2021, a camper was killed by a large branch which fell on his tent while he was sleeping.
The caravan park's operator, Yarra Valley Park Lane Holiday Park Pty Ltd, was charged with breaching section 26 of the Vic OHS Act 2004 in failing to "ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the workplace and the means of entering and leaving it were safe and without risks to health".
According to the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions Holiday Park, failed to implement reasonably practicable measures to reduce the risk posed by falling branches, including engaging an arborist to undertake annual assessments of the caravan park's trees, and then following any recommendations made.
The employer objected to the charge on a number of grounds, and also sought to have an expert arborist’s report excluded but to have their own arborist called as a witness.
Source: OHSAlert Read more: DPP v Yarra Valley Park Lane Holiday Park Pty Ltd (Ruling) [2024] VCC 1051 (17 July 2024)