HD Projects Pty Ltd v SafeWork NSW

The case of HD Projects Pty Ltd v SafeWork NSW was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute centred on the conviction of HD Projects for breaching their duty under section 19(2) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW). The appeal was brought by HD Projects against their conviction, questioning the extent to which challenges to findings of fact were permissible.

The legal issues the court was required to decide included whether the actions of the labour hire worker were part of the host’s business or undertaking for the purposes of section 19(2) of the Act, and whether there was an error in finding that the worker was an employee or agent of the hirer for the purposes of section 244 of the Act. The court needed to consider whether any alleged error in finding that the worker was an employee or agent was material and whether the conviction was well supported by factual findings without reliance on section 244.

The Supreme Court found that the appeal did not succeed as the conviction was well supported by factual findings. The court held that any error in finding that the worker was an employee or agent of the hirer was not material. The court also concluded that the extent to which challenges to findings of fact were permitted in this context was limited. Consequently, the conviction was upheld, and HD Projects' appeal was dismissed.

No further orders were made by the court.