A company pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on 24 July 2020, for breaching s 43(1) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the ‘Act’).  The company removed in excess of 10m2 of Asbestos Containing Material (‘ACM’) without holding an asbestos removal licence, contrary to s 487(1) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (the ‘Regulation’).  The defendant company also pleaded guilty and was sentenced for breaching s 446(3) of the Regulation, having allowed a broom to be used on asbestos containing material in a manner that was not controlled.  

On 20 July 2020, the defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court for one offence contrary to s32 of the Act, having failed to meet its primary safety duty under s19(1) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011(the Act).

A principal contractor and a subcontractor on a Brisbane construction site have pleaded guilty to s32 offences under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the ‘Act’). 

On 11 June 2020, Australia's first conviction and sentence for industrial manslaughter was handed down in the Brisbane District Court.

On 25 May 2020, the defendant company pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Brisbane Magistrates Court for breaching s 40C of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (the ‘Act’), having failed to ensure that a construction site was electrically safe for workers.

An electrician who carried on an electrical and air-conditioning business as a sole trader in south east Queensland pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the duty imposed on him under s.30 of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (the Act).

The defendant company, Betterlay Brick and Block Laying Pty Ltd, was charged under sections 33 and 19(2) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act), after a worker was injured when a block wall collapsed, pinning him.

A concreting company has pleaded guilty to a Category 2 offence under s.40C of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (the Act) at a hearing at Toowoomba Magistrates Court on 25 March 2020, for failing to conduct its business in a way that was electrically safe and exposing people to a risk of serious injury or death. That offence related to a failure to comply with an electrical safety duty under s.30(1) of the Act. The sole director also pleaded guilty to a breach of s.55 of the Act, for conducting electrical work without an electrical work license. The company was fined $35,000 and the director was fined $7,500.

An edge protection company and its sole director have pleaded guilty to offences under s.32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the Act). The defendants were charged for breaching their respective duties under s.19 and s.27 of the Act. On 13 March 2020, in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, the defendants were fined a total of $55,000.

A small family-run business specialising in the supply and fitting of window glass to heavy machinery was charged with two offences pursuant to s32 of Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Act) for breaching the duty it held under s19(1) of the Act. On 20 February 2020, the defendant company pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Holland Park Magistrates Court.