St Basil’s fined $150,000 over COVID-19 training failures

The Melbourne County Court sentenced St Basil’s after it pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to provide the information, instruction and training employees needed to work safely and without risks to their health.

The court heard the aged care provider employed 106 workers at a workplace comprising a 54-bed hostel, a 72-bed nursing home and a 24-bed dementia unit.

In March 2020, the Communicable Diseases Network Australia published guidelines on controlling COVID-19 transmission in residential aged care. They covered identifying COVID-19, transmission routes, stocking and using personal protective equipment (PPE), and responsibility for ensuring staff were trained and competent in outbreak management.

St Basil’s revised its infection control plans and made written pandemic resources available in the staff room and main office. Between March and June 2020, some workers received PPE information through five COVID-19 training sessions delivered by external medical practitioners, or at shift handovers and the start of shifts. However, a number of workers attended none of the training sessions.

St Basil’s admitted it had not provided all workers with information, instruction and training on which PPE was required, how and in what order to put it on and remove it, and what constituted a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case requiring PPE.

In July, a personal care attendant notified St Basil’s of a positive COVID-19 test after working the previous day. The court heard that 45 workers subsequently developed COVID-19.

WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said ensuring every employee understood how to manage health and safety risks was crucial to protecting everyone at work. “Training isn’t just an optional extra, it’s business critical, and employers must ensure they provide appropriate information and instruction to all workers – regardless of how often they are in the workplace or face a particular hazard,” Mr Jenkin said.

“The tragic events at St Basil’s were a heartbreaking reminder of why health and safety matters, and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those impacted.”

How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your approach to workplace health and safety, including worker information, instruction and training, and identify areas for closer attention. Take the free WHS self-check