SafeWork NSW v Stoneworx Marble & Granite Pty Ltd; SafeWork NSW v Doueihi

SafeWork NSW brought proceedings against Stoneworx Marble & Granite Pty Ltd and its director Joseph Doueihi for alleged breaches of workplace health and safety laws. The defendants filed motions asserting that the proceedings were brought outside the limitation period, but subsequently abandoned these motions and pleaded guilty. The defendants applied for an order that the prosecutor pay their costs. The court considered the principles established in Nash v Resource Pacific Pty Ltd (No 4) and whether it was just and reasonable for the prosecutor to pay all of the defendants’ costs. The court held that the prosecutor and the defendants continued to litigate on a common erroneous understanding of the law, which led to unnecessary costs. The court found that it was not just and reasonable for the prosecutor to pay all of the defendants’ costs. Instead, the court ordered that the prosecutor pay the defendants’ costs up until 19 July 2023, after which each party would bear their own costs.