Woodward Foods fined $375,000 over grain mill injury
15 Sept 2026•BlueSafe Team•Source: SafeWork NSW
Woodward Foods Australia Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined $375,000 after a worker suffered serious injuries while using a grain mill to prepare cattle feed.
The Industrial Court of NSW imposed the fine following a prosecution brought by SafeWork NSW. The incident occurred on 21 January 2023.
Woodward Foods Australia pleaded guilty to an offence under section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. The company failed to ensure workers’ health and safety, so far as was reasonably practicable, as required by section 19(1) of the Act.
The court also made an adverse publicity order. Its judgment is available on the NSW Caselaw website, and the company has the right to appeal its sentence.
The SafeWork NSW release describes injuries involving fixed machinery as preventable and occurring across the state and across industries. It notes that risk controls for moving plant and fixed machinery are well known.
Preventing injuries involving mobile plant, vehicles and fixed machinery is an area for action under SafeWork NSW’s regulatory priorities. The release highlights the importance of recognising and assessing risks, together with implementing safe systems of work, to reduce incidents involving fixed machinery.
Business owners and workers can access resources to help them manage risks associated with plant, machinery and equipment.
Workers with workplace health and safety concerns can contact SafeWork NSW anonymously on 13 10 50 or through the Speak Up Save Lives website.
How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your business’s approach to workplace health and safety and identify areas that may need closer attention. Take the free WHS self-check