WorkSafe to run blitz on site falls

WORKSAFE inspectors are focusing on the risk of falls during construction work when they visit building sites across the state between now and Christmas.

This year, two Victorian workers have died after falling from heights at construction sites, and a plumber received life-threatening head injuries earlies this month after he fell more than three metres through a skylight at an Ivanhoe house undergoing renovation.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Julie Nielsen said the statutory authority could and did prosecute employers for failing to protect workers from falls, even if no one was injured.

Earlier this month, Le Maistre Builders Pty Ltd was fined $52,500 without conviction after it pleaded guilty to four charges in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court, including two relating to inadequate fall protection and the use of incomplete scaffolding at two housing construction sites near Ocean Grove.

Ms Nielsen said that in that case, it was lucky no one was seriously injured or killed.

“The impact on families, friends and communities from workplace deaths and injuries is devastating and long lasting.

“For this reason, we do not hesitate to prosecute businesses.”

In the last five years, seven Victorian workers have died, and more than 3,000 have been injured seriously enough to make a compensation claim as a result of a fall on a construction site.

Ms Nielsen said the toll should serve as a reminder to all construction employers that they cannot afford to be complacent when managing fall hazards.

“Falls are a leading cause of death and serious injury on Victorian building sites, and all employers, whether they have one worker on site or 1,000, need to continuously ensure that they are doing everything necessary to minimise the risks.

“WorkSafe inspectors will not only be talking to builders about the hazards, but taking enforcement action where they identify that employers are not adequately controlling the risk of a fall.”