District Court
New South Wales
Medium Neutral Citation: SafeWork NSW v Voltex Trading Pty Ltd [2023] NSWDC 129 Hearing dates: 26 April 2023 Date of orders: 01 May 2023 Decision date: 01 May 2023 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Scotting DCJ Decision: 1 Voltex Trading Pty Ltd is convicted.
2 I impose a fine of $180,000.
3 The offender is to pay the prosecutor’s costs of the proceedings, as agreed or assessed.
4 I order pursuant to s 122(2) Fines Act 1996 that 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor.
Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – prosecution – work health and safety – duty of persons undertaking business – duty of employers – risk of death or serious injury – injury to workers
SENTENCING - deterrence - aggravating factors - mitigating factors – appropriate penalty
SENTENCING PRINCIPLES - no record of previous convictions - good prospects of rehabilitation - remorse - plea of guilty - assistance to law enforcement authorities
Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999
Fines Act 1996
Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017
Cases Cited: Bulga Underground Operations Pty Ltd v Nash [2016] NSWCCA 37
R v Borkowski (2009) 195 A Crim R 1
R v Thomson & Houlton (2000) 49 NSWLR 383
R v Youkhana [2004] NSWCCA 412
SafeWork NSW v Advanced Roofing Sydney Pty Ltd [2022] NSWDC 407
SafeWork NSW v Empire Contracting Pty Ltd [2022] NSWDC 437
SafeWork NSW v Evolve Roofing Pty Ltd [2023] NSWDC 75
SafeWork NSW v Leda Form Group Pty Ltd [2022] NSWDC 524
SafeWork NSW v LJW Solar Pty Ltd [2022] NSWDC 526
SafeWork NSW v McInerney Enterprises Pty Ltd
SafeWork NSW v Parrish Group NSW Pty Ltd [2023] NSWDC 13
SafeWork NSW v PCW Constructions Pty Ltd & Peter James Woodhouse [2022] NSWDC 290
Texts Cited: SafeWork NSW, Code of Practice Managing the Risks of Falls at Workplaces dated August 2019
SafeWork NSW, Falls through skylights and plastic roof sheeting dated 14 September 2018
SafeWork Australia, Safe work on roofs dated January 2016
SafeWork NSW Video Safety Alert, Solar safety – How to manage the risk of falls dated 5 February 2020
Category: Sentence Parties: SafeWork NSW (Prosecutor)
Voltex Trading Pty Ltd (Defendant)Representation: Counsel:
Solicitors:
A Mykkeltvedt (Prosecutor)
Legal, Department of Customer Service (Prosecutor)
YS Lawyers (Defendant)
File Number(s): 2022/144506 Publication restriction: None
JUDGMENT
-
Voltex Trading Pty Ltd (the offender) appears for sentence after pleading guilty to an offence under s 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), that it failed to comply with the health and safety duty it owed pursuant to s 19(1) of the Act and thereby exposed Mohamed Amine Ouchenir and Ibrahim Kamara to a risk of death or serious injury.
-
The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $1.5 million.
Facts
-
The parties tendered an Agreed Statement of Facts that can be summarised as follows.
Background
-
The offender operates a business installing…
Keep reading for free
Create a free CaseChat account to read SafeWork NSW v Voltex Trading Pty Ltd and more:
- Read every judgment in full
- Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
- See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
- Download judgments as PDF or Word
One click creates your free account or signs you in.
By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.
- Case
- [2023] NSWDC 129
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The court examined whether the company had a duty to ensure that reasonable steps were taken to prevent the risk of death or serious injury to its workers, and whether the injuries sustained by the workers were a direct result of the company's failure to meet this duty. Additionally, the court had to consider the principles of sentencing, including deterrence, aggravating and mitigating factors, and the prospects of rehabilitation. The company pleaded guilty, which was taken into account as a mitigating factor, along with the company's lack of prior convictions, its demonstrated remorse, and its cooperation with law enforcement authorities.
In determining the penalty, the court took into account the severity of the injuries sustained by the workers, the extent to which the company had failed in its duty, and the potential deterrent effect of the penalty on the company and others in the industry. The court concluded that a significant fine was necessary to achieve the objectives of punishment, deterrence, and rehabilitation. The court imposed a fine of $180,000, ordered the company to pay the prosecutor’s costs, and mandated that 50% of the fine be paid to the prosecutor. This decision reflects the court's commitment to upholding work health and safety standards and ensuring that companies are held accountable for their breaches.
Orders
Orders of the court
1 Voltex Trading Pty Ltd is convicted.
2 I impose a fine of $180,000.
3 The offender is to pay the prosecutor’s costs of the proceedings, as agreed or assessed.
4 I order pursuant to s 122(2) Fines Act 1996 that 50% of the fine is to be paid to the prosecutor.
Background
Background to the litigation
Full text does not contain this section.
Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
Full text does not contain this section.
Decision
Reasons for decision
Full text does not contain this section.
Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
Full text does not contain this section.