Case

SafeWork NSW v Matthew McCourt (2025)

Mr McCourt was the sole director of solar panel business Always Energy, operating out of Port Macquarie. 

Always Energy employed a Site Supervisor, Mr Raymond, who was a qualified electrician with a qualified supervisor’s electrical licence and Working at Heights Certificate, as well as Mr McGuire, who was a 22-year-old fourth-year apprentice electrician. Mr McGuire did not hold a Working at Heights Certificate. Mr McCourt supervised the Site Supervisor, and they would speak before and after the completion of most jobs to discuss the general logistics of the work. 

In early 2022, Always Energy was engaged by Pycon Homes and Constructions Pty Ltd to install a solar panel electricity system at a residential home under construction. The roof of the building was made of three separately pitched corrugated metal sheet roofs. Temporary fencing was installed along three sides of the property, but it did not extend high enough to act as fall protection at the front of the building.