District Court
New South Wales
- Amendment notes
Medium Neutral Citation: SafeWork NSW v Technical Works Pty Ltd [2022] NSWDC 454 Hearing dates: 30 September 2022 Date of orders: 7 October 2022 Decision date: 07 October 2022 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Russell SC DCJ Decision: In District Court proceedings 2021/134964 (s 19(1) Summons):
(1) Technical Works Pty Ltd was convicted on 30 September 2022.
(2) The appropriate fine is $200,000 but that will be reduced by 25% to reflect the early plea of guilty.
(3) Order Technical Works Pty Ltd to pay a fine of $150,000.
(4) Order pursuant to Section 122(2) of the Fines Act 1996 (NSW) that 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor.
(5) Order Technical Works Pty Ltd to pay the prosecutor’s costs.
In District Court proceedings 2021/134979 (s 19(2) Summons):
(1) Technical Works Pty Ltd was convicted on 30 September 2022.
(2) The appropriate fine is $20,000 but that will be reduced by 25% to reflect the early plea of guilty.
(3) Order Technical Works Pty Ltd to pay a fine of $15,000.
(4) Order pursuant to Section 122(2) of the Fines Act 1996 (NSW) that 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor.
(5) Order Technical Works Pty Ltd to pay the prosecutor’s costs.
Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – prosecution – work health and safety – duty of persons undertaking business – risk of death or serious injury
SENTENCE – objective seriousness – mitigating factors – aggravating factors – plea of guilty – general deterrence – specific deterrence – capacity to pay appropriate penalty - victim impact statement - totality
COSTS – prosecution costs
OTHER – defendant conducted a business or undertaking involving the management of construction projects – pack of formwork timbers fell from tower crane onto road and pedestrian footpath – timber struck the ground and ricocheted into worker – failure to maintain and enforce adequate exclusion zone – failure to develop, implement and maintain a lift plan for tower crane lifting operations – failure to provide information and instruction to workers – failure to provide warning signs to inform pedestrians – failure to provide traffic control to separate pedestrians from crane operations
Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 3A, 21A, 22, 27, 28, 30A, 30B, 30D, 30E
Fines Act 1996 (NSW), ss 6, 122
Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), ss 3, 19, 32, 33
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 cll 39, 54, 55, 314
Cases Cited: Baumer v R [1988] HCA 67; (1988) 166 CLR 51
Bulga Underground Operations Pty Limited v Nash [2016] NSWCCA 37; (2016) 93 NSWLR 338
Camilleri’s Stock Feeds Pty Ltd v EPA (1993) 32 NSWLR 683
Capral Aluminium Limited v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales [2000] NSWIRComm 71; (2000) 49 NSWLR 610
EPA v Barnes [2006] NSWCCA 246
- AGLC
- SafeWork NSW v Technical Works Pty Ltd [2022] NSWDC 454
- Case
- [2022] NSWDC 454
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The legal issues before the court included the assessment of the objective seriousness of the breaches, the consideration of mitigating and aggravating factors, and the imposition of a penalty that serves the purposes of general and specific deterrence. The court considered the early plea of guilty as a mitigating factor, reducing the proposed fines by 25%. In determining the appropriate penalty, the court weighed the potential for death or serious injury, the company's capacity to pay, and the impact on the victim. The court also took into account the totality principle, ensuring that the overall penalty reflected the gravity of the breaches.
In its judgment, the District Court found Technical Works Pty Ltd guilty on both charges and imposed fines accordingly. For the more serious charge, the court ordered a fine of $150,000, reduced from $200,000 due to the early plea of guilty. For the lesser charge, the court imposed a fine of $15,000, also reduced from $20,000. Additionally, the court ordered that 50% of each fine be paid to the prosecutor and that the defendant pay the prosecutor’s costs. These penalties were designed to reflect the seriousness of the breaches, deter future occurrences, and provide some measure of compensation to the prosecutor for the costs of the prosecution.
Orders
Orders of the court
In District Court proceedings 2021/134964 (s 19(1) Summons):
(1) Technical Works Pty Ltd was convicted on 30 September 2022.
(2) The appropriate fine is $200,000 but that will be reduced by 25% to reflect the early plea of guilty.
(3) Order Technical Works Pty Ltd to pay a fine of $150,000.
(4) Order pursuant to Section 122(2) of the Fines Act 1996 (NSW) that 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor.
(5) Order Technical Works Pty Ltd to pay the prosecutor’s costs.
In District Court proceedings 2021/134979 (s 19(2) Summons):
(1) Technical Works Pty Ltd was convicted on 30 September 2022.
(2) The appropriate fine is $20,000 but that will be reduced by 25% to reflect the early plea of guilty.
(3) Order Technical Works Pty Ltd to pay a fine of $15,000.
(4) Order pursuant to Section 122(2) of the Fines Act 1996 (NSW) that 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor.
(5) Order Technical Works Pty Ltd to pay the prosecutor’s costs.
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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