Occupational Health & Safety Act 1993
April 2004
NSW Industrial Relations Commission
A man died when operating a tractor at a Poultry processing plant. He was found pinned between the right rear wheel of the tractor and a water tank stand. He had not received any training in the use of the tractor’s hand throttle, and had not been provided with any written instructions on how to operate the vehicle in either English, or his first language, Cambodian. The plant operator and the Labour Hire Company were convicted and fined.
The Poultry Company was fined $159,250 and the Labour Hire Company was fined $217,000.
A single cost effective Statutory Liability extension on both company’s policies could have helped them meet the costs of these fines.
Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000
February 2006
NSW Industrial Relations Commission
On their first day of employment two construction workers were seriously injured when a one tonne steel frame they were loading fell from its supporting cradles and struck them. The Commission ruled that the workers had received inadequate instruction and minimal supervision.
The company was fined $100,000 and $7,000
By taking out a Statutory Liability policy the galvanizing company could have recovered much - if not all - the costs of this fine.
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997
September 2006 NSW Land & Environment Court
The director of a pest control company was fined for using a registered pesticide in contravention of an instruction on an approved label for the pesticide, without being authorized to do so by a permit.
The Director was fined $80,000
A Statutory Liability policy might have saved the pest control company a large sum of money and helped them manage the time and costs involved in legal action.