WorkSafe targets falls risks as 18 matters face investigation

The enforcement activity follows more than $1.65 million in court fines, undertakings and costs involving 36 employers over falls risks last year. Of those employers, 26 were in construction, which records more serious injuries from falls than any other industry. The 18 matters under investigation this year could lead to criminal charges, while the written warnings put another 21 businesses on notice.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said construction inspectors were referring duty holders for legal action even where no incident had occurred. “It’s too late to act once someone has fallen, that’s why inspectors are cracking down on all observed falls risks, including considering more serious action on issues that might previously have first prompted an improvement notice,” Mr Jenkin said. He said falls from height remained a leading cause of deaths and workplace harm in construction despite established prevention measures.

More than 1,400 Victorian workers were injured in falls from height last year, averaging four people a day. Two workers died in falls in 2024, and both deaths remain under investigation. Over the past five years, falls from height have claimed the lives of 36 workers in Victoria.

Castlemaine father Brett Struhs lost his son Kyle, 21, after a fall from a ladder while installing solar panels in Bendigo on Friday 30 November 2018. Brett received the call at lunchtime. He and his wife drove towards Melbourne after being told Kyle had been air-lifted there, then turned back towards Bendigo when they learned he was too unstable to fly. By the time they reached the hospital, Kyle had died.

“It’s changed our lives dramatically. Every birthday, Christmas, Fathers’ Day, Mothers’ Day – there are so many things that remind you of having Kyle around, and it doesn’t get any easier,” Brett said. “The pain’s always there, you just learn to live with it.” Brett is sharing his family’s experience in the hope of preventing other families from suffering the same loss.

WorkSafe construction inspectors are also running targeted inspection programs lasting a week. Recent blitzes across Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Melton and Wyndham covered 56 sites and resulted in 73 notices. Ten of those notices concerned falls hazards, including incomplete scaffolding and work at height without guard rails.

Mr Jenkin said fall prevention was an enforcement priority and that risks needed to be assessed and managed across all industries and trades. “Whether you’re a builder, a subcontractor, employer or anyone with control or management of a workplace – health and safety is your responsibility,” he said. “Fall prevention isn’t an optional extra, it’s the standard and WorkSafe will take the strongest possible action against those who fail to uphold it.”

“Kyle only fell 2.4 metres – people don’t realise you can fall that far and die,” Brett said. “Solar installers might only be on site for a day, and they’re trying to get in and out as soon as possible, but if there was scaffolding, guard rails, or even a harness in place, perhaps Kyle might still be alive today.” WorkSafe’s release advises employers to use the highest possible measures within the five-level hierarchy of controls to prevent falls from height.

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