On 6 May 2026, the defendant, a company that operated cattle stations, was convicted of an offence against the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (‘the Act’). Specifically, the defendant had a duty of care, the defendant failed to comply with that duty, and the failure exposed others to a risk of death or serious injury. 

The sentencing basis was that the defendant failed to:

• First, have a regular maintenance and inspection system for double decked cattle trailers which included checking particular components of those trailers;
• Second, have a safety procedure for the loading and unloading of cattle onto double decked cattle trailers, which included important requirements and prohibitions on workers performing certain tasks while loading and unloading cattle; and,
• Third, train and instruct its workers in relation to that safety procedure.

Those failures exposed others to a risk of death. The risk realised on 29 February 2024, when a worker was killed and another worker was injured when they loaded cattle onto a double decked trailer while working for the defendant.

His Honour Magistrate Saggers considered the objective seriousness of the offending, the maximum penalty, sentencing principles including general deterrence, the defendant’s early plea of guilty and lack of criminal history and imposed a fine of $375,000. His Honour did not record a conviction.

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