A construction company in NSW recently entered into an enforceable undertaking worth $291,800 following an incident in which a worker was seriously injured in a fall.

In the incident, which took place on 1 February 2021, a worker stepped onto a piece of plywood covering a penetration at a construction site.
The plywood was not secure, and the worker fell approximately 12 metres through the penetration to the basement floor below. The worker received serious injuries.

The company, Combeda Constructions, contravened section 19(1) and 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and agreed to a number of activities. These include:

• the appointment of a contract administrator/WHS compliance officer
• due diligence training
• a third-party audit of WHS operations
• digitising WHS compliance systems.

Combeda Constructions also agreed to host an industry seminar that includes:

•  a ‘lessons learnt’ presentation to industry attendees
• a presentation on the impact serious workplace incidents can have on families
• a presentation on work health and safety obligations for duty holders.

SafeWork NSW said there were a number of reasons for accepting the undertaking, including that the alleged contravention does not appear to be a section 31 Reckless conduct category 1 offence, which if it was the case, would preclude the proposed undertaking from being accepted.