Surprise WorkSafe inspector visit proves costly for construction company

In a stark reminder that it is an offence to expose someone to harm, even if no one is hurt, a construction company was fined $40,000 last week in Victoria after a WorkSafe Victoria inspector observed workers at risk of death because of the failure to have adequate fall protection (WorkSafe Victoria v Desbo Industries Pty Ltd [2025]).

In October 2024, WorkSafe received a report from a member of the public that workers of residential construction company Desbo Industries Pty Ltd were working unsafely.

A WorkSafe inspector attended the site and observed two workers installing roofing sheets on the first floor of the building without fall protection along the perimeter edge of the first floor and around the stair void. First floor access was via an extension ladder placed in the stair void, where only an incomplete, taped-off exclusion zone with three posts was present. The WorkSafe inspector issued two improvement notices to correct the deficiencies, which were corrected by the next day.

Although no one was injured, Desbo Industries was prosecuted for failing to eliminate or reduce the risk of falls, in particular by failing to implement simple known controls. The Court heard that the company also had interacted with WorkSafe on three prior occasions between 2020 and 2024 in relation to the risk of serious injury or death from falls exceeding 2 metres. In each case, the risk resulted from inadequate or absent fall protection.

After pleading guilty, Desbo Industries was convicted, and ordered to pay a fine of $40,000 and costs. Had a plea of guilty not been entered, the fine would have been $80,000.

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