WorkSafe

As Western Australian students return to schools this week, the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety’s WorkSafe group is delivering on its commitment to keep the State’s new and young workers safe by upgrading its SmartMove website, an online initiative that educates them about work health and safety (WHS).

SmartMove offers a practical way for WA’s new and young workers to learn about potential hazards, understand their rights and responsibilities and feel better prepared for the workplace.

A trucking company has been fined $550,000 (and ordered to pay $8000 in costs) for failing to properly secure a load on one of their trucks that was later involved in a fatal collision.

R.G.R. Road Haulage Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the health and safety of other persons was not put at risk by their work and was fined in the Perth Magistrates Court on April 13.

The WorkSafe Commissioner has exempted the operators of small, lower-risk mines in Western Australia that meet all of the regulator’s criteria from full Site Senior Executive requirements, allowing them to appoint a Site Senior Executive (Restricted).

A Katrine farm owner has been fined $22,000 (and ordered to pay $4861 in costs) over unsafe controls on a wool press. 

Wayne Bradley Ashworth pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and was fined in the Northam Magistrates Court yesterday.

In January 2022, a farm manager was using the wool press to compress fleeces into cubic wool packs.

WorkSafe’s regional, agricultural and industrial inspectors visited 19 regional abattoirs and issued 562 improvement notices and six prohibition notices.

The most common reason for the issue of notices was guarding of machinery (81 notices), followed by provision of safe layout including floor demarcation (52 notices), maintenance and inspection of mobile plant (20 notices) and emergency stops (18 notices).

WorkSafe has commenced prosecution action against a mining maintenance company over the death of a worker at South Boulder in December 2023.

Dalmain Enterprises Pty Ltd – trading as ATS Mining Maintenance – has been charged with failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment and, by that failure, causing the death of a worker.

In December 2023, a worker who was employed as a heavy diesel mechanic was instructed to remove the front axle from a truck, requiring the truck to be jacked off the ground.

• Proposed amendments arise from a recent legislation review
• The State Government is committed to the highest safety standards
• Public submissions are open until 5pm on 27 February 2026

The Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety is inviting public submissions on proposed amendments to Western Australia’s dangerous goods safety laws.

Mining services company MLG Oz Limited has been fined $750,000—and ordered to pay $6,702.70 in costs—at Perth Magistrates Court over an April 2022 incident at Evolution Mining (Mungari) Pty Ltd’s Mungari gold mine 20km west of Kalgoorlie in which a heavy diesel mechanic suffered a serious crush injury and a left humerus fracture.

Our offices will be closed from Wednesday 24 December 2025 and will reopen for business on Monday 5 January 2026.
For urgent queries please see our after hours and emergency contacts.

A sole trader has been fined $15,000 (and ordered to pay more than $2600 in costs) for removing asbestos when he did not have an asbestos removal licence.

Justin Collins pleaded guilty to three counts of carrying out work for which he was not authorised according to regulations and was given a global fine for all three offences in the Perth Magistrates Court on November 21.