National Waste Management company, Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd is facing charges of up to $1.5 million for failing to provide appropriate Work Health & Safety systems for their workers. In June 2021 a worker was injured while using a machine that is designed to compress cardboard & plastics into bales. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) has declared the company has failed in its WHS duties.
Cleanaway case is set for mention before the ACT Magistrates Court on 20 July 2023. The CDPP alleges that as a licenced national employer in the Comcare scheme, Cleanaway failed to provide a safe system of work and training for workers by:
- Failing to install guarding to prevent access to the internal moving parts of the baling machine &
- Failing to provide workers with information & training to isolate power to the machine during maintenance
If the category 2 criminal offence is proven, Cleanaway faces a fine of up to $1.5 million.
As identified on the CDPP website, the new Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act 2011 offences came into effect on 1 January 2012.
Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act 2011
The WHS Act contains a number of offences and, in particular, 3 categories that relate to the failure to comply with a health & safety duty:
- Category 1 Offence — a person engaging in conduct that exposes an individual to whom a duty is owed to a risk of death or serious injury being reckless to the risk
- Category 2 Offence — a person failing to comply with a duty that exposes an individual to risk of death or serious injury
- Category 3 Offence — a person failing to comply with a duty
Key legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011
- Civil Aviation Act 1988
- Competition and Consumer Act 2010
- Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993
Main offences
- s.31 Work Health and Safety Act 2011—reckless conduct (category 1)
- s.32 Work Health and Safety Act 2011—failure to comply with health and safety duty (category 2)
- s.33 Work Health and Safety Act 2011—failure to comply with health and safety duty (category 3)
Penalties
The maximum penalties for these offences depend on the defendant and are:
| Category 1 | Category 2 | Category 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | $300,000 / 5 years imprisonment | $150,000 | $50,000 |
| Person/officer of a person conducting business or undertaking | $600,000 / 5 years imprisonment | $300,000 | $100,000 |
| Body Corporate | $3,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $500,000 |
The WHS Act provides for a number of sentencing orders in addition to those available under Part 1B of the Crimes Act 1914, including adverse publicity orders, orders for restoration, work health and safety project orders, release on the giving of a court-ordered WHS undertaking, injunctions, and training orders.
Work Health & Safety (WHS) is complex & each business has different circumstances. Contact our team to discuss any WHS items you would like to review or improve.
For further information relating to the Cleanaway incident & possible fines, please refer to:
Source: The Mandarin
Title: Cleanaway faces WHS charge and $1.5 million penalty after Canberra worker injures hand
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