The Perfect Crew Constructions Pty Ltd (TPCC) is a carpentry business that was engaged in September 2023 to work on a construction site in Officer.
A TPCC second-year apprentice was using a drop saw to cut skirting board when he sustained extensive lacerations to three fingers on his right hand. The principal contractor of the worksite notified WorkSafe of the incident as required by s.38 of the OHS Act.
Following the incident notification WorkSafe attended the site and issued a notice to TPCC to produce documents relating to the injured apprentice’s employment status and construction training. TPCC only produced the training documents.
The apprentice returned home to India to be with their family.
The matter was investigated and in February 2024 the inspector attended the TPCC business location and issued a further notice requiring to production of documents including payslips, contact details of TPCC workers, induction and training records, work procedures and investigation reports, among others. The informant warned the offender that a refusal or failure to comply with the requirement, without reasonable excuse, was an offence. Compliance was due by 11 March 2024.
TPCC was granted three extensions between 11 March and 23 April 2024, but still the documents were not provided. TPCC provided no reasonable excuse for their failure to comply.
The maximum penalty for failure to comply with a notice issued by a WorkSafe inspector at the time of the incident was approximately $480,000. For their failure to comply with a notice TPCC was fined by the Frankston Magistrates’ Court only $2,500. A penalty of this size is unlikely to serve as any deterrent to TPCC or other employers in failing to comply with a notice in the future.
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