Case

SafeWork NSW v Tattam Express Pty Ltd (2025)

In October 2022, transport company Freight Specialists Pty Ltd engaged Tattam Express as a subcontractor ‘Delivery Agent’ under an arrangement whereby Freight Specialists’ drivers would pick up pallets from, and deliver pallets to, Tattam Express sites on a daily basis. A Freight Specialist driver, while supervising and assisting with the unloading of his truck during a late-night delivery at a Tattam Express distribution site, was hit by a forklift driven by an employee of Tattam Express. The truck driver suffered a serious leg injury as a result.

SafeWork NSW alleged Tattam Express had failed to comply with its primary duty under section 19(1) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (WHS Act) to ensure the safety of workers at work in the business or undertaking, and therefore exposed workers, in particular the injured truck driver, to a risk of death or serious injury in contravention of section 32 of the WHS Act.