Air con company fined $85k following apprentice fall

An air conditioning company has been fined $85,000 after a first-year apprentice fell at a residential construction site south-east of Melbourne.

Hallidays Heating and Cooling Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to a single charge of failure to adhere to the relevant Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) at the Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (20 August).

The company dodged conviction, however, was ordered to pay costs of $4,264.

WorkSafe Victoria chief health and safety officer, Sam Jenkin, said: “The risks associated with falls from height are well-known, so there is no excuse for employers failing to protect their workers – especially young workers who are new to the industry.”

Unsafe practices

According to health and safety regulator, WorkSafe Victoria, the incident occurred in March 2024 while the 24-year-old apprentice installed heating and cooling with his two colleagues at a construction site of a double-storey town house.

The regulator said: “At the time, an internal staircase had not yet been built, leaving a three-metre void between the upper and ground floors, with a platform installed over the top providing access through a hatch door and a ladder.”

The apprentice removed part of this platform to make space to hoist up an air conditioning unit, which left the void uncovered.

“He fell backwards through the void, striking his head and lower back on the ground below,” it said. The 24-year-old was taken to hospital after having suffered serious injuries from the fall.”

Findings by the regulator

WorkSafe found that the SWMS prepared for the task stipulated that employees must be harnessed before any part of the void platform is removed.

“Instead of being treated with extra care due to his inexperience, this young man did not receive a SWMS induction and was working centimetres from a live edge without a harness. It is unacceptable,” he said. The document had also been found to be unsigned by the apprentice and his two colleagues.

Hallidays admitted that the incident could have been prevented if the work had been performed in line with the task’s SWMS. The company also commented that it could have “[found] an alternative process to transport the units without removing the platform, or by ensuring workers used a fall arrest system, such as safety harnesses, whenever the platform was removed or left open”.

“Use a fall arrest system, such as a harness, catch platform or safety nets, to limit the risk of injuries in the event of a fall,” said WorkSafe, as part of its recommendations for working safely at height.

Jenkin commented on how incidents like these could have all been prevented. In a statement to WorkSafe, he expressed his disappointment about the “many tragic falls and near-misses the construction industry sees”.

Carlos Tse

Carlos Tse is a graduate journalist writing for Accountants Daily, HR Leader, Lawyers Weekly.