Non-profit organisation fined $190,000 following vulnerable worker’s death

In an important decision regarding the duty to ensure vulnerable workers are protected, a not-for-profit Victorian organisation that provides inclusive employment to people living with a disability or experiencing disadvantage, was fined $190,000 after an employee died following a fall at work.

Ability Works Australia Pty Ltd employs more than 100 employees with a disability and/or experiencing disadvantage (supported employees) and 30 employees who would assist the supported employees to undertake their roles.

A supported employee, with diminished hearing, some vision but legally blind, and the requirement to use a walker, fell down a set of stairs at the workplace. These stairs were used to access an upstairs meals room. At the time, employees could exit the meals room and access the lower floors either by a wooden staircase consisting of two flights of stairs, connected by a mid-landing area, or via a passenger lift.

On the day of the incident, the supported employee was found lying on the stairs, with her mobility walker at the top of the staircase. The employee was transported to hospital but died later that day from her injuries.

In pleading guilty to a failure to ensure safety at the workplace, the Court noted that the organisation failed to provide necessary supervision to employees with mobility and vision impairments, to ensure they did not access or go near the staircase without adequate supervision during meal breaks.

In sentencing, the Court noted that a substantial fine was required due to the objective seriousness of the offence in failing to protect vulnerable workers against obvious risks. This was despite the fact that:

the directors were volunteers;
the organisation operated for 60 years without prior offences;
the breach was a lapse rather than a systemic failure;
a stair supervision roster was introduced and eventually the stairs were removed entirely; and
there was a limited capacity to pay and a plea of guilty was entered at an early stage.

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