Lessons from Minus 1 Refrigerated Transport’s Prosecution: The Importance of Traffic Management Plans

The recent prosecution of Minus 1 Refrigerated Transport Pty Ltd serves as a stark warning to businesses about the consequences of inadequate traffic management, particularly when previous incidents have highlighted clear risks. The company’s failure to properly design, implement, monitor, and enforce a traffic management plan (TMP) resulted in serious injuries to employees on multiple occasions — and, most recently, another substantial fine for a repeat offence.

This latest conviction, handed down in March 2025, saw Minus 1 fined $50,000 after a forklift struck a truck driver at its Dandenong South site in February 2023. The driver was standing at the rear of his truck when the forklift reversed into him, causing a fractured pelvis and serious leg injuries.

WorkSafe Victoria noted that the company had failed to implement adequate controls to separate pedestrians and forklifts — despite already having been prosecuted for similar incidents in 2022 and 2023.

The 2023 case is particularly damning because it occurred while Minus 1 was still under the shadow of earlier prosecutions for almost identical traffic management failures. This demonstrates not just negligence, but an entrenched culture of non-compliance — a clear red flag for regulators and the courts.

Overview of the Dandenong South Incidents and Prosecution

On June 27, 2023, at Minus 1’s Dandenong South facility, a forklift driver accidentally reversed into a yardman, resulting in severe injuries.

The yardman, responsible for directing vehicles, was struck while walking down the driveway or “apron” area — a zone that was not designated for loading or unloading under the company’s TMP. However, this area had been used for unloading on a regular basis, showing a complete lack of enforcement of the TMP.

This followed a January 2022 incident where a truck driver was struck by a moving forklift and sustained serious injuries, including four broken ribs and two fractured vertebrae. At the time of the 2023 Dandenong South incident, the 2022 prosecution was still pending, meaning the company was already on notice of the risks and legal consequences.

In both of these cases, Minus 1 was charged with failing to maintain a safe work environment under sections 21(1) and 21(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic). For the 2023 Dandenong South incident, the company pleaded guilty and was fined $20,000, plus $4,575 in costs.

A Pattern That Cannot Be Ignored

The addition of the second incident, followed by an appeal and subsequent conviction in 2025 makes it clear this is not about a single oversight — it’s about a systemic disregard for safety obligations.

Two serious forklift-pedestrian incidents in just over two years, all preventable with basic controls like physical barriers, exclusion zones, and proper enforcement of TMPs, show a total failure to learn from past mistakes.

WorkSafe has been explicit: repeat breaches will not be tolerated, and penalties will escalate. Minus 1’s track record now stands as a textbook example of how a lack of sustained corrective action will attract increasing regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage, and significant financial penalties.

This is the type of attitude towards safety that the regulators keep a close eye on.