Principal contractor fined following subcontractor worker's fall from a bridge

An NSW contractor was fined nearly $70,000 last week after it failed to ensure the health and safety of workers by preventing or minimising the risk of a subcontractor worker falling from a height (SafeWork NSW v Menai Civil Contractors Pty Ltd [2025]).

The incident

Stockland Developments Pty Ltd (Stockland) engaged Menai Civil Contractors Pty Ltd as the principal contractor for the construction of a project at Huntley, New South Wales. Menai Civil contracted Bridgeworks (Aust) Pty Ltd to assist in the construction of the Reed Creek Bridge at the site. Bridgeworks then engaged Topdeck Formwork Services Pty Ltd (Topdeck) to supply workers for the construction, erection and removal of formwork on an ad hoc basis. Topdeck workers were notified and assigned tasks via text or email.

On the morning of 11 November 2022, one of Topdeck’s contractors (the injured worker) was assigned the task of stripping the south side of the bridge’s abutment. Before commencing the task, he had a conversation with a fellow formworker about their approach. Soon after, the injured worker used an extension ladder to access the top of the southern abutment and connected wire chains between a 26-tonne excavator and the form soldiers (steel beams). He was not wearing a harness, as the anchoring point was located on the opposite side of the abutment. Another worker was operating the excavator while the injured worker loosened the main screws. At 2:20pm, the injured worker fell backwards from the southern abutment of the Reed Creek Bridge.

Safety measures

At the time of the incident, Menai Civil required contractors and workers to complete an induction process prior to commencing work. As part of this step, workers were required to:

sign the relevant SWMS for high-risk work;
discuss their compliance requirements; and
ensure they understood the fall protection systems being used on site.

Other safety measures in place included:

daily pre-start meetings;
weekly site inspections;
clearly defined exclusion zones;
designated spotters;
SWMS observations on site; and
a fall assist system in relevant high-risk areas to reduce fall-related hazards.

Importantly, upon inspection of the SWMS, it was observed that when it came to addressing what it identified as a high-risk task of removing formwork, the SWMS expressly contemplated the use of an elevated work platform (EWP), and specified both the means of access to it and the manner in which it was to be maintained. However, the SWMS failed to identify an EWP as a required plant or equipment for the site, and on the day of the incident, an EWP was not used.

The charge

The contractor was charged with a Category 3 offence, which does not require the prosecutor to prove that the failure of the person conducting a business or undertaking caused the worker to be exposed to serious risk of injury or death.

Sentencing

Menai Civil pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that subcontractors, in particular Bridgeworks, would develop, implement and enforce a site-specific safe system of work for the stripping of formwork, which:

accurately specified the methodology for the safe dismantling of formwork with adequate fall prevention;
required Bridgeworks to obtain and use an EWP at the site; and
prohibited workers from climbing to the top of abutments, particularly without fall prevention.

It also accepted that it failed to verify that subcontractors, in particular Bridgeworks, were following safe systems of work.

Menai Civil was convicted and fined $69,750 and ordered to pay the prosecutor’s costs.

After the incident

Following the incident, Menai Civil implemented the following measures in an effort to improve its existing systems and prevent future risks from materialising:

strengthened its exclusion zone controls;
held refresher safety training for all site personnel involved in high-risk activities;
updated safety information, developed and communicated in consultation with workers and made readily accessible across all worksites;
deployed visual alarms to improve real-time hazard awareness; and
enhanced near-miss reporting protocols to support early intervention and continuous improvement.

Important changes for small business employers start today
While all employers – big or small – have obligations to their employees, small business employers (businesses with an employee headcount of less than 15) sometimes have a little leeway ...