WA construction firm Apollo Construction & Renovation Pty Ltd fined $90K over worker’s almost four-metre fall

A WA construction firm has been fined $90,000 after a worker was seriously injured when he fell almost four metres while working on a patio roof of a northern suburbs home. Worksafe charged Apollo Construction & Renovation Pty Ltd after the July 2022 incident which was only reported to the regulator three weeks after it had occurred. The regulator was first notified of the incident through the injured labourer’s lawyer. One of three charges the firm faced in the Perth Magistrate’s Court on Friday included the failure to disclose the incident, and for not preparing a safe work method statement. The labourer had been renovating the patio when he fell through a polycarbonate sheet on the roof. WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North said the case provided a reminder to report notifiable incidents. “The Work Health and Safety Act imposes a duty on a person conducting a business to report any notifiable incident to the regulator immediately after becoming aware of it,” Ms North said. “WorkSafe was not made aware of this incident until nearly three weeks later when the injured person’s lawyer notified WorkSafe. “It is also a duty of the person in control to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the incident site is not disturbed until an inspector either arrives at the scene or directs that the scene is released. “The WHS Regulations require a safe work method statement detailing the measures to be taken to control risks to be prepared before high construction work commences — that includes work where a person could fall more than two metres. In this incident, the roof of the patio was higher than two metres. “The incident is a timely reminder that it is the duty of anyone in charge of a workplace to conduct a thorough risk assessment before work begins and to put safe work procedures in place to reduce the risk of injury to workers and others.”