In a recent judgment, the NSW District Court considered an incident where a 200 kg sliding gate at a demolition site on Parramatta Road, Leichhardt collapsed onto a woman and her three children as they walked past. A scaffold worker had opened the gate to move a parked truck, causing it to overrun its track and fall.
A scaffold worker had opened the gate to move a parked truck, causing it to overrun its track and fall.
The gate had been installed two months earlier by a contractor. There were no visible faults or incidents reported during that period.
SafeWork NSW instigated legal proceedings against the demolition company. The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 20(2)/32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW). The court found the gate lacked an end-stop and had not been inspected post-installation. The company was fined $180,000.
The prosecution acknowledged the company was unaware of the flaw, but the court ruled it failed in its duty to verify the gate’s safety after installation.
Key Lessons:
- Principal contractors must verify safety of contractor-installed systems.
- Sliding gates must have overrun protection.
- Duty of care includes foreseeable risks to the public.
- Post-installation checks are considered reasonably practicable.
This case serves as a warning that courts may expect businesses to verify the safety of contractor-installed systems, even in the absence of visible defects, reinforcing that WHS duties cannot be delegated and may extend to technical inspections soon after installation.
