WorkSafe

A tree maintenance company has been fined $170,000 (and ordered to pay more than $3500 in costs) after a worker died while conducting pruning work at Maida Vale in 2024.

Mr Palmer WA Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to contravening its general duty of care and, by that contravention, exposing a worker to the risk of death, and was fined in the Armadale Magistrates Court yesterday.

The prosecution did not allege that the contravention caused the fatal incident. 

Mine owner and operator FQM Australia Nickel Pty Ltd has been fined $810,000 and ordered to pay $11,096.20 in costs by the Albany Magistrates Court over an incident in which a worker suffered a serious spinal injury.

WorkSafe has commenced prosecution proceedings under the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 against six companies in relation to four workplace incidents that occurred in Western Australia in July and August 2024.

The matters relate to incidents at a mine site, a construction workplace, an auction facility and a tree-pruning operation. All four incidents involved fatalities.

WorkSafe has received 85 submissions for this year’s Awards, and the judging panel has chosen 29 finalists in the five categories.

The five Award categories are:

WorkSafe is investigating the work-related death of a tow truck driver at an Osborne Park tow yard early this morning.

The woman was reported to have been unloading a car from a tow truck tilt tray when the fatal incident occurred.

WorkSafe investigators thoroughly examine the circumstances of incidents with a view to ensuring compliance and preventing future incidents of a similar nature.

WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North relayed her sincere condolences to the woman’s family, friends and colleagues.

Mine operator Evolution Mining (Mungari) Pty Ltd has been fined $200,000 and ordered to pay $15,392.20 in costs by the Perth Magistrates Court over an incident in which a worker for a contractor suffered a crush injury and a fractured left humerus.

In the incident on 17 April 2022, the MLG Oz Limited worker became entangled in a stacker conveyor at the Mungari gold mine near Kalgoorlie.

• Construction company SRG Global CASC Pty Ltd fined after worker on construction site struck by a large piece of airborne plywood.
• Court finds injury occurred due to improperly fixed cover that became airborne due to strong winds.
• Outcome confirms the importance of having Safe Work Method Statements in place to reduce risks to workers.

A construction company has been fined $135,000 (and ordered to pay $7204 in costs) after a worker was injured by a large piece of plywood that struck him after being dislodged by strong winds.

A construction company has been fined a record $1.75 million (and ordered to pay $2661 in costs) over the death of a worker who was struck by a falling structural steel column, the highest fine ever imposed under WA’s workplace safety laws.

AR Constructions (currently in the process of liquidation) pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker and, by that failure, causing his death and was fined in the Midland Magistrates Court on Monday.

WorkSafe has issued a warning to assessors, industry and the general public after a Perth High Risk Work Licence (HRWL) assessor had his accreditation cancelled for serious breaches of assessment requirements. 

Ronald Myers’ assessor accreditation has been cancelled, so he is now no longer able to conduct assessments for any class of HRWL.

Mining company Wiluna Operations Pty Ltd has been fined $575,000 after an apprentice mechanical fitter suffered a permanent spinal injury and became a paraplegic when a wheel assembly weighing more than 750 kilograms fell on him.

The Carnarvon Magistrates Court also ordered the company to pay $2,663.30 in costs on 24 April 2026. The incident happened at the Matilda Gold Open Pit in September 2021.