Builder fined $40,000 over missing fall protection at Grovedale site
13 Mar 2026•BlueSafe Team•Source: WorkSafe VIC
Desbo Industries Pty Ltd has been fined $40,000 after two contractors were observed working more than three metres above the ground without fall protection at a Grovedale building site.
The Geelong Magistrates' Court sentenced the company on Thursday 5 March after it pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to ensure a workplace under its management and control was safe and without risks to health. It was also ordered to pay $4,422 in costs.
Desbo was the principal contractor for construction of a two-storey residence. In October 2024, a WorkSafe inspector visited the site following a report of unsafe work at height and saw two contractors installing first-floor flooring sheets without fall protection.
Workers reached the first floor using an extension ladder in the stair void. An attempt to establish an exclusion zone with tape had been left incomplete.
The investigation identified three earlier interactions between Desbo and WorkSafe from 2020 to 2024 involving inadequate or missing fall protection. Those interactions concerned the risk of serious injury or death from falls of more than two metres.
Desbo accepted that it was reasonably practicable to restrict first-floor access until suitable, compliant perimeter guard railing had been installed around the floor edge and stair void.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said the outcome delivered a clear message to employers who repeatedly ignored their safety obligations. "We won’t wait for a worker to fall before taking strong enforcement action – especially when duty holders ignore safety obligations even after multiple warnings," Mr Jenkin said.
"The ways to properly manage working at height are well-known and readily available so employers have absolutely no excuse to put their workers at risk." WorkSafe's release also advised employers to use the highest possible measures from the five levels of the hierarchy of controls to prevent falls.
A subcontractor engaged for carpentry work at the site has also been charged and is due to appear next in the Geelong Magistrates' Court on 14 April.
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