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The Advertiser
01-07-2025
- General
- The Advertiser
Fallout from scaffolding fail on busy street costs builders $90K
A CONSTRUCTION company in charge of demolition work on a busy main street where 60 metres of scaffolding flew off-site in heavy winds has been fined $90,000. The scaffolding was picked up by a strong gust of wind and was thrown off the site and hit several cars, a light pole, and a person who was walking by. Civil 1 Ptd Ltd was the principal contractor for the demolition of nine commercial buildings on Mann Street, Gosford, in July 2020. The company had sub-contracted 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd to supply, install and dismantle scaffolding at the site. Type A hoarding, a type of external cover made from plywood sheeting 2.4 metres high, was also required to be fixed to the scaffolding facing Donnison and Mann Streets to protect people using the footpath from flying debris and dust, and above that mesh known as unimesh. On August 18, Century Building workers attended the site to remove the scaffolding and hoarding but at 10.30am an excavator, being operated by Civil employee, struck an underground power line and work ceased. After a couple of hours, it was clear the repairs would take a significant amount of time and the scaffolders left for the day. The next day, at about 3pm, 21 bays of the scaffolding measuring about 60m in length were blown over by high winds that had been predicted for that day. A woman walking by was hit in the back of the head and taken to hospital, while a large number of vehicles parked on Mann Street were damaged along with a light pole and other infrastructure. Safe Work NSw visited the site and put a prohibition notice in place to alleviate concerns about how the concrete slab close to Mann Street could be demolished using excavators without creating a risk of flying debris that could injure pedestrians using the footpath. At that time, the scaffold had been replaced with temporary cyclone wire fencing along Mann Street that was not covered with unimesh or similar. The prohibition notice directed that "all demolition work within nine metres of the boundary adjacent to Mann Street" stop until Safe Work NSW was satisfied that the risk had been remedied with additional hoarding. However, the same inspector who issued that notice watched from the SafeWork office on nearby Donnison Street two excavators that appeared to be operating on the site closer than the nine-metre requirement. When he arrived on site, he saw that one of the excavators had moved out of the prohibited area but the other remained within it sifting through debris. The other excavator was fitted with a ripper attachment and was moving pieces of concrete out of the prohibited area. Safe Work NSW charged Civil with several breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act, including putting workers and a pedestrian at risk of death or serious injury, and failing to comply with a prohibition notice. The company was found guilty of putting people at risk of serious injury, but not death. The control measures which should have been implemented were simple, convenient and known to the offender, and identified in the safety documents for the site, District Court Judge Andrew Scotting said in his judgement. The work conducted in breach of the prohibition notice was carried out with the knowledge of the site supervisor, who knew the reasons for it and the dimensions of the prohibited work area, Judge Scotting found. "I infer that the prohibition notice was breached because it suited the convenience of the offender to carry out the work at that time," he said. 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Work Health and Safety Act over the same incident. The first, putting at risk the lives and safety of its workers, and the second, putting at risk the life and safety of the woman who was struck. The company was convicted and fined in November, a total of $300,000, with a 25 per cent discount due to a guilty plea, bringing it to $225,000. A CONSTRUCTION company in charge of demolition work on a busy main street where 60 metres of scaffolding flew off-site in heavy winds has been fined $90,000. The scaffolding was picked up by a strong gust of wind and was thrown off the site and hit several cars, a light pole, and a person who was walking by. Civil 1 Ptd Ltd was the principal contractor for the demolition of nine commercial buildings on Mann Street, Gosford, in July 2020. The company had sub-contracted 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd to supply, install and dismantle scaffolding at the site. Type A hoarding, a type of external cover made from plywood sheeting 2.4 metres high, was also required to be fixed to the scaffolding facing Donnison and Mann Streets to protect people using the footpath from flying debris and dust, and above that mesh known as unimesh. On August 18, Century Building workers attended the site to remove the scaffolding and hoarding but at 10.30am an excavator, being operated by Civil employee, struck an underground power line and work ceased. After a couple of hours, it was clear the repairs would take a significant amount of time and the scaffolders left for the day. The next day, at about 3pm, 21 bays of the scaffolding measuring about 60m in length were blown over by high winds that had been predicted for that day. A woman walking by was hit in the back of the head and taken to hospital, while a large number of vehicles parked on Mann Street were damaged along with a light pole and other infrastructure. Safe Work NSw visited the site and put a prohibition notice in place to alleviate concerns about how the concrete slab close to Mann Street could be demolished using excavators without creating a risk of flying debris that could injure pedestrians using the footpath. At that time, the scaffold had been replaced with temporary cyclone wire fencing along Mann Street that was not covered with unimesh or similar. The prohibition notice directed that "all demolition work within nine metres of the boundary adjacent to Mann Street" stop until Safe Work NSW was satisfied that the risk had been remedied with additional hoarding. However, the same inspector who issued that notice watched from the SafeWork office on nearby Donnison Street two excavators that appeared to be operating on the site closer than the nine-metre requirement. When he arrived on site, he saw that one of the excavators had moved out of the prohibited area but the other remained within it sifting through debris. The other excavator was fitted with a ripper attachment and was moving pieces of concrete out of the prohibited area. Safe Work NSW charged Civil with several breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act, including putting workers and a pedestrian at risk of death or serious injury, and failing to comply with a prohibition notice. The company was found guilty of putting people at risk of serious injury, but not death. The control measures which should have been implemented were simple, convenient and known to the offender, and identified in the safety documents for the site, District Court Judge Andrew Scotting said in his judgement. The work conducted in breach of the prohibition notice was carried out with the knowledge of the site supervisor, who knew the reasons for it and the dimensions of the prohibited work area, Judge Scotting found. "I infer that the prohibition notice was breached because it suited the convenience of the offender to carry out the work at that time," he said. 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Work Health and Safety Act over the same incident. The first, putting at risk the lives and safety of its workers, and the second, putting at risk the life and safety of the woman who was struck. The company was convicted and fined in November, a total of $300,000, with a 25 per cent discount due to a guilty plea, bringing it to $225,000. A CONSTRUCTION company in charge of demolition work on a busy main street where 60 metres of scaffolding flew off-site in heavy winds has been fined $90,000. The scaffolding was picked up by a strong gust of wind and was thrown off the site and hit several cars, a light pole, and a person who was walking by. Civil 1 Ptd Ltd was the principal contractor for the demolition of nine commercial buildings on Mann Street, Gosford, in July 2020. The company had sub-contracted 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd to supply, install and dismantle scaffolding at the site. Type A hoarding, a type of external cover made from plywood sheeting 2.4 metres high, was also required to be fixed to the scaffolding facing Donnison and Mann Streets to protect people using the footpath from flying debris and dust, and above that mesh known as unimesh. On August 18, Century Building workers attended the site to remove the scaffolding and hoarding but at 10.30am an excavator, being operated by Civil employee, struck an underground power line and work ceased. After a couple of hours, it was clear the repairs would take a significant amount of time and the scaffolders left for the day. The next day, at about 3pm, 21 bays of the scaffolding measuring about 60m in length were blown over by high winds that had been predicted for that day. A woman walking by was hit in the back of the head and taken to hospital, while a large number of vehicles parked on Mann Street were damaged along with a light pole and other infrastructure. Safe Work NSw visited the site and put a prohibition notice in place to alleviate concerns about how the concrete slab close to Mann Street could be demolished using excavators without creating a risk of flying debris that could injure pedestrians using the footpath. At that time, the scaffold had been replaced with temporary cyclone wire fencing along Mann Street that was not covered with unimesh or similar. The prohibition notice directed that "all demolition work within nine metres of the boundary adjacent to Mann Street" stop until Safe Work NSW was satisfied that the risk had been remedied with additional hoarding. However, the same inspector who issued that notice watched from the SafeWork office on nearby Donnison Street two excavators that appeared to be operating on the site closer than the nine-metre requirement. When he arrived on site, he saw that one of the excavators had moved out of the prohibited area but the other remained within it sifting through debris. The other excavator was fitted with a ripper attachment and was moving pieces of concrete out of the prohibited area. Safe Work NSW charged Civil with several breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act, including putting workers and a pedestrian at risk of death or serious injury, and failing to comply with a prohibition notice. The company was found guilty of putting people at risk of serious injury, but not death. The control measures which should have been implemented were simple, convenient and known to the offender, and identified in the safety documents for the site, District Court Judge Andrew Scotting said in his judgement. The work conducted in breach of the prohibition notice was carried out with the knowledge of the site supervisor, who knew the reasons for it and the dimensions of the prohibited work area, Judge Scotting found. "I infer that the prohibition notice was breached because it suited the convenience of the offender to carry out the work at that time," he said. 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Work Health and Safety Act over the same incident. The first, putting at risk the lives and safety of its workers, and the second, putting at risk the life and safety of the woman who was struck. The company was convicted and fined in November, a total of $300,000, with a 25 per cent discount due to a guilty plea, bringing it to $225,000. A CONSTRUCTION company in charge of demolition work on a busy main street where 60 metres of scaffolding flew off-site in heavy winds has been fined $90,000. The scaffolding was picked up by a strong gust of wind and was thrown off the site and hit several cars, a light pole, and a person who was walking by. Civil 1 Ptd Ltd was the principal contractor for the demolition of nine commercial buildings on Mann Street, Gosford, in July 2020. The company had sub-contracted 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd to supply, install and dismantle scaffolding at the site. Type A hoarding, a type of external cover made from plywood sheeting 2.4 metres high, was also required to be fixed to the scaffolding facing Donnison and Mann Streets to protect people using the footpath from flying debris and dust, and above that mesh known as unimesh. On August 18, Century Building workers attended the site to remove the scaffolding and hoarding but at 10.30am an excavator, being operated by Civil employee, struck an underground power line and work ceased. After a couple of hours, it was clear the repairs would take a significant amount of time and the scaffolders left for the day. The next day, at about 3pm, 21 bays of the scaffolding measuring about 60m in length were blown over by high winds that had been predicted for that day. A woman walking by was hit in the back of the head and taken to hospital, while a large number of vehicles parked on Mann Street were damaged along with a light pole and other infrastructure. Safe Work NSw visited the site and put a prohibition notice in place to alleviate concerns about how the concrete slab close to Mann Street could be demolished using excavators without creating a risk of flying debris that could injure pedestrians using the footpath. At that time, the scaffold had been replaced with temporary cyclone wire fencing along Mann Street that was not covered with unimesh or similar. The prohibition notice directed that "all demolition work within nine metres of the boundary adjacent to Mann Street" stop until Safe Work NSW was satisfied that the risk had been remedied with additional hoarding. However, the same inspector who issued that notice watched from the SafeWork office on nearby Donnison Street two excavators that appeared to be operating on the site closer than the nine-metre requirement. When he arrived on site, he saw that one of the excavators had moved out of the prohibited area but the other remained within it sifting through debris. The other excavator was fitted with a ripper attachment and was moving pieces of concrete out of the prohibited area. Safe Work NSW charged Civil with several breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act, including putting workers and a pedestrian at risk of death or serious injury, and failing to comply with a prohibition notice. The company was found guilty of putting people at risk of serious injury, but not death. The control measures which should have been implemented were simple, convenient and known to the offender, and identified in the safety documents for the site, District Court Judge Andrew Scotting said in his judgement. The work conducted in breach of the prohibition notice was carried out with the knowledge of the site supervisor, who knew the reasons for it and the dimensions of the prohibited work area, Judge Scotting found. "I infer that the prohibition notice was breached because it suited the convenience of the offender to carry out the work at that time," he said. 21st Century Building Services Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Work Health and Safety Act over the same incident. The first, putting at risk the lives and safety of its workers, and the second, putting at risk the life and safety of the woman who was struck. The company was convicted and fined in November, a total of $300,000, with a 25 per cent discount due to a guilty plea, bringing it to $225,000.
AU Financial Review
18-06-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Safety investigation launched at UTS over KPMG's job slashing plan
The University of Technology Sydney may be sacking 400 of their own staff members, but at least they're keeping the staff at SafeWork NSW in gainful employment. The workplace safety watchdog recently launched an investigation into UTS, issuing it with a 'notice to give information' under the Work Health and Safety Act.
ABC News
27-04-2025
- Health
- ABC News
WorkSafe ACT investigation finds life-threatening work conditions for nurses after ‘serious' assaults
Nurses and allied health workers' lives were put at risk by a failure of safety protocols, according to the ACT's workplace safety watchdog. The ruling follows four assaults on nurses or allied health workers carrying out home visits in March. Canberra Health Services (CHS) chief executive Dave Peffer said the assaults were serious. "Serious enough to require medical assessment…we did offer occupational violence leave, and that was certainly taken up," Mr Peffer said. The incidents occurred during home visits as part of the Hospital in the Home and Belconnen Recovery Service programs run by CHS. Canberra Health Services chief executive Dave Peffer says they are working closely with WorkSafe to improve practices. ( ABC News: Mark Moore ) The staff involved have since returned to work. The assaults were severe enough that CHS was required by law to report them to the workplace safety watchdog WorkSafe ACT. A WorkSafe investigation into the incidents found: "The situations resulted in physical and psychological harm to the affected workers and had serious potential to result in the death of a person." "That's the finding of WorkSafe, and we don't step away from that at all," Mr Peffer said. "We've taken that on board, and that's why we've been working so closely with the regulator to improve our practices." Years of raising safety concerns However, Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) ACT Regional Secretary Maddy Northam said she wasn't surprised to hear about the assaults, because members had been raising safety concerns for years. She said nurses and midwives attempting to provide hospital level care in patients' homes often encountered "really scary situations". "We've had members who have had the front door opened and the patient or a family member may be holding a machete or a knife or an axe or chain," Ms Northam said. "There are firearms present, guns, bows and arrows." CPSU ACT regional secretary Maddy Northam said members were forced into very scary situations during in-home visits. ( ABC News ) She said members' reporting such incidents had not lead to change. "CPSU members at Canberra Health Services have been raising pretty serious safety concerns about home visits for more than two years now," Ms Northam said. Improvement and prohibition notices As part of its assessment of the assaults, WorkSafe issued six improvement notices and one prohibition notice to CHS in March in relation to home visit safety protocols. These notices list changes and improvements CHS are required to make under the Work Health and Safety Act. Union representatives say health staff face dangerous situations when attempting to provide in-home healthcare. ( ABC News: Maren Preuss ) WorkSafe found the risk assessments used for home visits were "ineffective", the alarm systems "unsafe" and required a series of changes in order to better protect staff. CHS has now undergone those mandatory changes and the safety notices have been lifted. A CHS spokesperson said some of the actions taken included strengthening the risk assessment tool, mandatory training for staff before a home visit and ensuring staff have a duress device and that their manager always knew where they were. However, Ms Northam said CPSU members felt let down. " Our members are really disappointed that it took an unprecedented prohibition notice from WorkSafe to actually get CHS to listen. " 'Almost impossible to foresee' Mr Peffer said safety issues had been raised over the past few years but denied it was the WorkSafe notice that finally brought about action. "I acknowledge that these have been issues that have been raised throughout the years, and to be fair to the to many of our teams, they have adjusted their processes," he said. "Occupational violence is something we've been working on for a long time, for many years. It didn't start when these incidents occurred, and certainly it won't end tomorrow. "Some of the situations where assaults have occurred it is almost impossible to foresee that that would have happened." In 2024 there were six assaults on nurses and allied health workers in the home care programs run by CHS. More broadly, there were 43 instances of occupation violence across CHS services. In March Mr Peffer, in a regular update to staff, wrote: "Team, that's 43 too many. As an organisation we've let our team members down — and for that I am deeply sorry." More than sorry Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation ACT Branch secretary Carlyn Fidow said its members had also raised safety concerns several times over many years. ANMF ACT branch secretary Carlyn Fidow says she "wasn't surprised" to hear about the four assaults after raising concerns multiple times. ( ABC News: Mark Moore ) She said an apology wasn't enough. "Nurses and midwives — they don't want to hear apologies for it after the fact," Ms Fidow said. "They want to see some action. They want to know that their employer is going to do something to address the assaults in a timely manner. "Over many years, we have continued to raise safety concerns which lead to potential risk of assaults. "It shouldn't take a WorkSafe notice to get some action."
