Roofing Firm Fined After Work Experience Paraplegia Fall Through Skylight

Bowitt Group Pty Ltd, trading as Melbourne Commercial Roofing, has been ordered to pay more than $55,000 in fines and costs after a work experience participant was left paraplegic following a fall through a skylight at a community facility in Melbourne's south-east.

The Moorabbin Magistrates' Court heard that the company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a workplace under its management or control was safe and without risks to health. The court imposed a $55,000 fine and ordered Bowitt Group to pay $5,888 in costs.

Bowitt Group had been engaged to undertake roofing works at the Highett Neighbourhood Community House, a site that included multiple domed skylights. In February 2024, a person on paid work experience with a subcontractor was carrying a removed roofing sheet towards the side of the roof when he stepped onto a skylight and fell more than 3.5 metres to the floor below.

The incident caused severe spinal injuries resulting in paraplegia.

A WorkSafe Victoria investigation identified that, although several Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) had been prepared describing the risks associated with the roofing activities and proposed control measures, no physical fall protection was in place around or over the skylights.

The court was told it was reasonably practicable for Bowitt Group to control the risk of serious injury or death by securely covering the skylights, or by installing guardrails, barriers and warning signs to clearly identify and isolate the fall hazard.

WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer, Sam Jenkin, said the dangers of working at height were long established and that duty holders had no excuse for ignoring basic controls.

"Time and time again we see duty holders fail to take simple, easily understood precautions to address the serious risks of a fall from heights," Mr Jenkin said.

"Sadly, this failure has left an individual with devastating injuries that could and should have been prevented."

The subcontracted sole trader who engaged the injured person on paid work experience was separately fined $50,000 without conviction in December 2025 in relation to the same incident.

WorkSafe emphasised that duty holders must apply the highest level of control that is reasonably practicable from the hierarchy of controls when managing fall risks. This typically includes eliminating the need to work at height where possible, or otherwise using solid construction, edge protection, work platforms, fall restraint systems or fall arrest systems as appropriate.

From a Work Health and Safety (WHS) perspective, this case underscores the importance of integrating fall prevention into an organisation's WHS management system and ensuring that SWMS are not just documented but fully implemented on site. Comprehensive policies and procedures, supported by worker training and supervision, are essential to ensure that identified controls are actually in place before work starts. For organisations seeking structured WHS documentation, including SWMS for work at height, resources are available from specialist providers such as BlueSafe's SWMS library.

WorkSafe noted that eligible employers can access practical guidance and tools to address fall hazards through its free online "falls basics" workshops, aimed at improving planning, supervision and control selection for tasks undertaken at height.