Appeal of infringement notices results in 60 hours of community service

A sole-trader electrician who appealed infringement notices was sentenced to perform 60 hours of community service for failing to ensure compliance with a safe work method statement (SWMS) and ensuring a person did not come within an unsafe distance of an overhead powerline.

On 8 December 2025, the sole trader was doing cladding work when Queensland Workplace Health and Safety inspectors attended the worksite. They observed him on the awning of the premises, working at height and adjacent to an energised powerline. The sole trader was not following the SWMS, as he had no harness or safety rails. He also had not obtained advice from the energy provider about the powerline before starting the work.

The inspectors issued the sole trader with infringement notices, which the sole trader indicated he would contest.

A prosecution was subsequently commenced in relation to the charges in the notices.

The Court heard a plea of guilty from the sole trader, and noted that the offending was serious and that there was a need to implement a sentence that balances justice as well as specific and general deterrence. The Court accepted in the sole trader’s personal circumstances that a fine was not appropriate, but an order for community service would be a deterrent penalty.

The Court sentenced the sole trader to 60 hours of community service to be completed within 12 months, and made an order to pay the prosecutor’s costs. A conviction was not recorded.

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