Remote road deaths are not random. Recent NT and WA coronial findings show the same failures repeating, unlit roads, no courtesy transport, alcohol, speed, no seatbelts, fatigue, and poor remote communications. These risks are well known and easily controlled. When organisations rely on awareness instead of system design, coroners are left writing the same report with a new name.

This article is about a failure that was entirely predictable, entirely preventable, and entirely hidden until it was not. Dean Anson Sanderson's death during a zipline ride in Far North Queensland clearly falls into that category, a termination failure that exposes how superficial assurance and visual checks can lull organisations into thinking life-critical systems are safe. In December 2019, a zipline cable failed mid-span in the Daintree region, sending two riders plungi

Another Victorian farmworker has lost their life in a machinery incident, and safety systems will be closely examined. I recall inspecting the agricultural space and having to work with the "old-school" mentality that came with it. It was always a pleasure to level with our primary producers and point them in the right direction. Too many of our farmers are dying at the hands of their machinery. Too many of our farmers are dying on the job. WorkSafe Victoria confirmed a 64‑

Deliberately venting gas to atmosphere as a work method is not a grey area, not a clever workaround, and not a risk trade off. It is a conscious decision to defeat controls, and regulators will treat it as exactly that, deliberate exposure to serious risk. This is a sharp reminder that safety prosecutions are no longer confined to what systems failed, they are increasingly focused on who chose to ignore them, and why. What happened In this matter, a company and an individual

When systems break down in the field, the consequences are rarely abstract. They are human, immediate, and irreversible. Two recent publications, the coronial findings into the death of backcountry skier Andrew Seton and the 2024–25 Major Incidents Report, reinforce the same blunt truth. Time, communication, and decision clarity determine outcomes. I have seen this reality firsthand. As a former member of Bush Search and Rescue Victoria (BSAR), regularly called out to assi

On 23 Jul 25, the NSW District Court delivered a clear and uncomfortable message to company officers. Paul Whitmarsh, director of AWB Contractors Pty Ltd, was convicted and fined $300,000, close to the statutory maximum, for failing to exercise due diligence in connection with a fatal workplace incident at Rozelle Bay in Jan 21. The Court was unequivocal. The death was foreseeable, preventable, and directly linked to long-standing failures in how safety was managed at an off

On 23 Jan 26, the Victorian Coroner handed down findings into the death of an older man who was fatally trapped when a ride-on mower rolled down an embankment at Glenmaggie. It was not a freak event. It was not a mechanical failure. It was the predictable outcome of a task carried out near a slope, on a machine without roll-over protection, in circumstances that many people would describe as routine. This is the uncomfortable truth about plant risk. Familiarity dulls judg

On 02 Jan 23, two scenic flight helicopters collided near the helipad precinct at Sea World on the Gold Coast. Four people were killed, and others sustained serious, life-altering injuries. What should have been a routine tourist experience became one of the most confronting aviation incidents in recent Australian history, not because it involved an unfamiliar hazard, but because it exposed how easily trusted systems can drift into danger without triggering alarm. I can empat

A coronial inquest in Western Australia has delivered a confronting finding for anyone responsible for heavy vehicle safety. A simple, unauthorised cabin modification materially extended a prime mover’s frontal blind spot and a worker was killed. This was not a high-speed crash, a driver sleeping at the wheel, or dangerous driving. I t happened during a routine departure from a roadhouse parking bay. A modified foil sunshade, fitted inside the windscreen, obstructed the driv

A construction worker in Darwin has been seriously injured after an unsecured excavator bucket fell during preparation for transport. The incident prompted a safety alert from NT WorkSafe, not because the hazard was novel, but because the controls were well known and still not applied. This is not a freak event, it's risk management failure playing out in a familiar way. What happened During preparation for transport, smaller excavator attachments were placed inside a larger

In January 2026, WorkSafe WA confirmed a $750,000 fine against MLG Oz Limited after a diesel mechanic suffered a serious crush injury at the Mungari gold mine near Kalgoorlie. The incident did not involve an explosive failure or a rare mechanical fault, it involved a running conveyor, removed guarding, no enforced isolation, and a task that had quietly drifted into normal work without being treated as high risk. This episode is another example of how preventable injuries cont

On 15 Jun 23, a 16-year-old worker at RPC Surface Treatment Pty Ltd in Welshpool, WA, was crushed to death when a 425 kg steel beam fell from a monorail. Two years later, on 27 Oct 25, the Perth Magistrates Court handed down a record $975,000 penalty, the highest fine ever imposed under Western Australia’s work health and safety laws. This was not a freak accident. It was a foreseeable, preventable system failure. The Incident The company utilised a monorail system to transp

On October 8, 2025, a concrete manufacturing business in Queensland was sentenced in the Office of the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor’s (OWHSP) report after a worker suffered amputation of his leg. The company was fined $110,000  for breaching its primary health and safety duty under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (WHS Act) by failing to control a clearly foreseeable risk. This article unpacks what happened, why it matters, and the lessons companies must draw.

In October 2025, a manufacturing company in Queensland was fined $60,000  after a serious injury occurred due to exposed machinery. The case, reported on the Office of the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor (OWHSP) website, serves as a stark reminder of how predictable risks, when left unaddressed, can lead to human harm, regulatory sanctions, and reputational damage. This blog explores the facts of the case, the regulatory context, the lessons for manufacturing and broader i

The NSW District Court has fined Wrigley Metal Roofing Co Pty Ltd $225,000 after a worker fell almost 4 m from a roof at Avalon Beach in 22. The conviction under s32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) underscores the importance of implementing safe systems for roof work. The incident On 25 Jul 22, a roof worker engaged by Wrigley Metal Roofing Co Pty Ltd fell 3.8 m while re-sheeting and cladding a residential roof at Avalon Beach. A principal contractor had subcontr

A worker’s hand was crushed in a conveyor. The machine wasn’t isolated. There were no engineering controls to prevent access to moving parts. Now the employer is facing a $340,000 enforceable undertaking. MFCT Pty Ltd, trading as Mildura Fruit Company, agreed to the penalty after a serious workplace injury in July 2023. The matter was heard on 27 October 2025 in the Mildura Magistrates’ Court. This isn’t just another compliance case. It’s a warning shot for every business

On 14 Jul 22, a forklift reversed inside the chilled stack-down area of JBS Australia’s Yanco feedlot, striking a 57-year-old worker. The collision caused catastrophic crush injuries that led to the amputation of the worker’s left leg. This month, the company was convicted and fined $330,000 under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) after pleading guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of its workers. What Went Wrong Investigators found that key engineering c

The 2025 West Coast bushfires stand as one of Tasmania’s largest and most complex natural disasters in recent memory. Sparked by dry...

The Mills & Watson Plumbing Pty Ltd case is tied to a broader excavation collapse incident prosecuted under safe work laws in New South...

When even the Department of Defence cops a fine, it’s a wake-up call for everyone else. Comcare recently prosecuted Defence after a soldier in Brisbane sustained a serious thumb laceration. The injury met the criteria for notifiable incidents  under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth), but Defence didn’t tell Comcare in time. The result: a $7,000 fine for failing to notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of the serious injury. You can read the official re