Solar installer fined $40,000 after apprentices exposed to falls risk

The Geelong Magistrates' Court sentenced the company on Monday 22 April after finding it guilty of three charges of failing to provide or maintain a safe workplace. It was also ordered to pay $3959 in costs.

WorkSafe inspectors saw the two apprentices working on the roof of a home in July 2022. No fall protection was in place, and a safe work method statement (SWMS) had not been prepared.

The court heard inspectors were told the company's sole director knew there was no fall protection on the 2.7-metre-high roof and had left the apprentices working without supervision.

The company had already faced WorkSafe compliance action in June 2021, when an apprentice was seen installing solar panels on a house without fall protection or a SWMS.

The court heard the company could reasonably have provided safe systems of work to ensure fall protection, such as guard rails, was installed before work began. It could also have provided adequate supervision to prevent workers starting without fall protection and ensured a SWMS was prepared before high risk construction work commenced.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Narelle Beer said failing to manage work-at-height risks was a tragedy waiting to happen.

"It's incredibly disappointing to see the very well-known strategies to reduce the risk of falls continue to be ignored, and it's even more frustrating that this employer had previously acknowledged they understood their safety obligations," Dr Beer said.

"The workers involved were young apprentices with their whole working lives ahead of them and it is awful to think their futures were knowingly put at risk because of this employer’s failure."

How Blue Safe can help: Our free SWMS tool can help you prepare a safe work method statement for high risk construction work, including work at height. Create a free SWMS