Comcare v Post Logistics Australasia Pty Limited

Post Logistics Australasia Pty Limited was charged by Comcare for a contravention of occupational health and safety laws. The incident in question involved an employee, Ms Roslyn Mary Borg, who was injured by a forklift operated by a contractor, Mr Kevin Cox, on 31 March 2008. The company admitted to the breach of section 16 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (Cth), which obligates employers to take reasonably practical steps to protect the health and safety of their employees. The court was tasked with determining the appropriate pecuniary penalty for the breach, considering various factors including the objective seriousness of the incident and the steps that could have been taken to prevent it.

The court was required to consider whether the principles of criminal law sentencing should inform the penalty assessment and to ensure that the penalty reflected the gravity of the breach. It also had to evaluate the practical measures that could have been implemented to safeguard Ms Borg's health and safety at the workplace. The court needed to balance these considerations to determine a penalty that was both proportionate and dissuasive.

The court determined that while the assessment of a penalty should incorporate elements from the criminal law sentencing process, it should primarily focus on the objective seriousness of the breach and the feasible steps that could have been taken to prevent it. The court concluded that the admitted breach was serious due to the nature of the injury and the failure to implement basic safety measures. It imposed a penalty of $80,000, differing from the assessment offered by the parties, and ordered Post Logistics Australasia Pty Limited to pay this amount within 14 days, along with the applicant's costs.