Recruitment Company Fined Over Worker Death

Taurus Recruitment and Kara Resources have been fined almost $500k over the death of a quarry worker in 2020.  

29-year-old Robbie Westover was fatally struck in the head when he entered the cavity of a rock-crushing machine to remove a metal blockage.  

SafeWork SA said that the risk of injury was foreseeable and the tragedy could have easily been avoided.

So, what went wrong? 

First, no risk assessment or safe work procedure existed for this dangerous task. 

Second, no training was provided to Mr Westover in the removal of metal blockages.  

"The tragic loss of life in this case could have, and should have, been avoided by a simple but firm instruction implemented as a safe work procedure and properly supervised and maintained, which prohibited any worker from entering a Rollercone crusher to remove a blockage or to conduct any other maintenance work.”
— Judge Tony Rossi 

Where Kara Resources failed 

• Failed to provide and maintain a safe system of work for the task, because there was an inadequate hazard identification and risk assessment process for removing metal blockages  

• Failed to provide and maintain necessary information, training, and supervision to protect workers 

Where Taurus Recruitment failed 

• Failed to consult, cooperate, and coordinate with the host employer to ensure that there were adequate hazard identification and risk assessment processes in place 

• Failed to ensure that the host employer provided and maintained adequate safe work method statements and procedures for removing metal blockages  

“This is a lesson to all businesses to undertake risk assessments on tasks and plant machinery”  

“You must identify risks and eliminate them. If you cannot eliminate them, reduce the risk to as low as reasonably practicable.” 
— Martyn Campbell, SafeWork SA Executive Director  

The Tribunal handed down its decision in November last year. The labour hire company and mining company were charged $40k and $455k, respectively. 

Refresher: Duty to consult, cooperate, and coordinate 

In March last year, WorkSafe Victoria made changes to OHS legislation: 

“Labour hire providers and host employers must, so far as is reasonably practical, consult, cooperate, and coordinate activities with each other where they share OHS duties to labour hire workers.” 

This includes exchanging information, introducing necessary policies, and responding to requests to jointly manage health and safety. Either the labour hire provider or host employer can report non-compliance of this duty to WorkSafe, and severe penalties can apply.    

Visit the WorkSafe Victoria site below for more information. 

What about in an office setting?

While Mr Westover worked in a high risk industry with mortal consequences, the same obligations apply for lower risk industries such a white collar. Risks that can severely impact a worker and must be considered include the following:

• Mental health, fatigue, and stress management

• Ergonomics and workstation design

• Workplace and facility safety (e.g. evacuations, first-aid)

• Privacy and data security

Certex’s iSafe, iPrivacy, and iMind programs are good starting points to assess whether your systems meet the minimum requirements. Further, the JAS-ANZ accredited TES certification demonstrates to your clients that you take these matters seriously and have a proven ability to go employ best practices in privacy, safety, and the essential industry policies.

If you have any questions about how your business is affected or want to re-evaluate your risks and operations, please do not hesitate to contact Certex.