Construction Firm Sentenced After Fatal Three-Metre Fall

Pearl Construction Group Pty Ltd has been sentenced in the Melbourne County Court after pleading guilty to failing to ensure a workplace under its management and control was safe and without risks to health, following a fatal fall on a residential construction site.

The court was told that the 23-year-old worker had been engaged by a carpenter contracted to Pearl Construction Group to construct frames and install roof trusses on a series of multi-storey townhouses.

In September 2022, while carrying lengths of steel along the first floor, the worker fell through an open stair void to the concrete slab approximately three metres below. He sustained severe head injuries and later died in hospital.

The court heard it was reasonably practicable for Pearl Construction Group, as the principal contractor, to eliminate or significantly reduce the risk of a fall by restricting access to the first floor until effective fall protection was in place. This should have included installing perimeter guardrails around the stair void and ensuring access was via a secured ladder extending at least 90 centimetres above the first floor landing.

WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin stated that duty holders have no justification for ignoring clear obligations relating to work at height and exposing workers to known and preventable risks.

"It is incredibly frustrating and tragic to see another life lost to such a preventable and well-documented risk," Mr Jenkin said.

"Despite extensive information and guidance on how to properly manage these hazards, falls from height remain the leading cause of death and serious injury in the construction industry."

The sole trader operating the carpentry business, trading as Big Basa Constructions, was separately sentenced in August 2025. He received 100 hours of community work and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty to a single charge arising from the same incident.

This case underscores the importance of robust WHS management systems, safe work method statements (SWMS) and site-specific policies to ensure that fall risks are identified, controlled and monitored before workers access elevated areas. Comprehensive systems, such as those available from specialist providers (for example, WHS management systems and construction SWMS), can assist principal contractors and subcontractors to meet their legal duties.

To prevent falls from height, employers and PCBUs must apply the highest level of control that is reasonably practicable from the hierarchy of controls, prioritising elimination, substitution and engineering controls over administrative measures and personal protective equipment. Access to incomplete upper levels should be prohibited until effective edge protection, void protection and compliant access systems are fully installed and verified as safe.

WorkSafe continues to remind the construction industry that failure to implement and enforce adequate fall prevention measures can result in catastrophic consequences for workers, as well as significant legal, financial and reputational impacts for businesses and individuals in control of workplaces.