Illawarra Turf Club fined $200,000 over worker’s roof fall
02 Mar 2026•BlueSafe Team•Source: SafeWork NSW
Illawarra Turf Club Ltd has been convicted and fined $200,000 in the District Court of NSW after a worker fell through a skylight at Kembla Grange Racecourse and suffered serious injuries.
The SafeWork NSW prosecution followed an incident on 22 March 2022. The worker was on the roof of the racecourse grandstand when they fell 5.2 metres through a skylight.
The club pleaded guilty to an offence under section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to meet its duty to workers under section 19(1). It has the right to appeal its sentence.
SafeWork Commissioner Janet Schorer said: “Falls from heights are a primary cause of traumatic injuries and fatalities at NSW workplaces.”
“SafeWork NSW reminds all businesses of their duty to ensure their workers are protected when working at heights.”
The full judgment is available on the NSW Caselaw website. SafeWork NSW also provides resources on its website for business owners and workers to help manage the risks of working at heights.
Workers can raise workplace health and safety concerns anonymously with SafeWork NSW by calling 13 10 50 or using the Speak Up Save Lives website.
How Blue Safe can help: Our free SWMS tool can help you prepare a safe work method statement for high-risk construction work involving heights, with a focus on the hazards and controls relevant to the task. Create a free SWMS