SafeWork NSW v SFS Management (Aust) Pty Ltd - [2025] NSWIC 18

Industrial Court

New South Wales

Case Name:	SafeWork NSW v SFS Management (Aust) Pty Ltd
Medium Neutral Citation:	[2025] NSWIC 18
Hearing Date(s):	3 September 2025
Date of Orders:	31 October 2025
Decision Date:	31 October 2025
Before:	Paingakulam J
Decision:	In Industrial Court proceedings 2024/391261 (s 32 Summons), I make the following orders: (1) I impose a fine of $480,000. (2) SFS Management (Aust) Pty Ltd is to pay the prosecutor’s costs of the proceedings as agreed or assessed. (3) Pursuant to s 122(2) Fines Act 1996 (NSW), 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor. In Industrial Court proceedings 2024/391282 (s 46 Summons), I make the following orders: (1) I impose a fine of $20,000. (2) SFS Management (Aust) Pty Ltd is to pay the prosecutor’s costs of the proceedings as agreed or assessed. (3) Pursuant to s 122(2) Fines Act 1996 (NSW), 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor.
Catchwords:	CRIMINAL LAW — work health and safety — offences — category 2 — fall from height — ice machine compressor fell through roof while workers were attempting to move it, injuring multiple workers — failure to ensure that the roof was structurally capable of supporting workers and compressor — guidance material readily available — Safe Work Method Statement did not refer to task of decommissioning and removing an item of plant — procedure adopted for lifting and moving compressor was informal and ad hoc — “one-off” failure, not systems failure — upper-mid range of objective seriousness CRIMINAL LAW — work health and safety — offences — failure to consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities with other duty holders — no risk assessment to determine whether roof was strong enough to take weight of the compressor, equipment and workers — offender did not require other duty holder to provide a Safe Work Method Statement, safe work procedure or the installation of a working platform — upper-mid range of objective seriousness SENTENCING — aggravating factors — substantial harm, injury, loss or damage — victim impact statements — prosecutor tendered victim impact statements of employees of another duty holder — offender objected based on late service and that statements were not relevant to the s 32 offence — it is not the role of the Court to make factual findings based on the content of a victim impact statement — victim impact statements do not increase the otherwise appropriate penalty, but rather confirm the extent of the substantial injury, loss and damage that can be expected of such offences in their aggravated form SENTENCING — relevant factors on sentence — moral culpability — aggravating factors — mitigating factors — deterrence — reduced need for specific deterrence — totality — overlap between two offences resulted in discount to give effect to principle of totality
Legislation Cited:	Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) Fines Act 1996 (NSW) Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (NSW)
Cases Cited:	Baumer v The…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2025] NSWIC 18
Decision Date: 31 October 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

SafeWork NSW initiated proceedings against SFS Management (Aust) Pty Ltd in the Industrial Court of New South Wales, following an incident where workers were injured after an ice machine compressor fell through the roof while they were attempting to move it. The primary dispute centred on breaches of work health and safety laws, including the failure to ensure the roof was structurally capable of supporting the workers and the equipment, and the failure to consult, co-operate, and co-ordinate activities with other duty holders. These failures resulted in substantial injuries and damages to the workers.

The court was tasked with determining whether SFS Management breached specific duties under the work health and safety legislation by not ensuring the roof could support the weight of the workers, the compressor, and any equipment, and by not requiring other duty holders to provide a Safe Work Method Statement or a safe work procedure. The court also needed to assess the level of moral culpability and whether the breaches were a "one-off" failure or indicative of a systemic issue within the company. The seriousness of the offences was evaluated based on the objective harm caused and the availability of guidance material that could have prevented the incident.

The court found that the breaches were serious but not systemic, placing the offences in the upper-mid range of objective seriousness. It determined that while the injuries were substantial, they did not warrant the upper end of the scale due to the absence of a systemic failure. The court also considered victim impact statements, which highlighted the severity of the injuries, but noted these statements did not increase the penalty beyond what was otherwise appropriate. The court imposed a fine of $480,000 for the more serious breach and a separate fine of $20,000 for the lesser breach. It also ordered that half of each fine be paid to the prosecutor.

Orders

Orders of the court

In Industrial Court proceedings 2024/391261 (s 32 Summons), I make the following orders:

(1) I impose a fine of $480,000.

(2) SFS Management (Aust) Pty Ltd is to pay the prosecutor’s costs of the proceedings as agreed or assessed.

(3) Pursuant to s 122(2) Fines Act 1996 (NSW), 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor.

In Industrial Court proceedings 2024/391282 (s 46 Summons), I make the following orders:

(1) I impose a fine of $20,000.

(2) SFS Management (Aust) Pty Ltd is to pay the prosecutor’s costs of the proceedings as agreed or assessed.

(3) Pursuant to s 122(2) Fines Act 1996 (NSW), 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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