On 24 July 2026 a person conducting a business or undertaking was sentenced in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court for breaching section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (‘the Act’), having failed to comply with its primary health and safety duty.

The defendant operated a glass recycling facility. The defendant had a machine called a bag house. It was surrounded by a fence with a gate. There was an exit chute on the bag house which contains moving parts. The machine expelled fine glass particles from the exit chute which was collected in large bags below. The worker placed his hand in the exit chute because he thought there may have been a blockage. The worker suffered significant injury to his hand, resulting in the partial amputation of two fingers.

The defendant failed to uphold its primary health and safety obligation by ensuring the gate to the area where the chute was locked and ensuring an emergency stop button was not obscured and clearly identifiable by workers. 

The learned Magistrate determined the offending was at the lower end of seriousness, the defendant’s plea was early given the particulars were amended at sentence, it was a good corporate citizen, it had no prior criminal history, and it had cooperated with the administration of justice by entering a plea of guilty.

The defendant was fined $75,000. No conviction was recorded.

OWHSP contact: enquiries@owhsp.qld.gov.au