Pinnacle Safety and Training Blog

Don’t risk prosecution

Do you or your employees work at heights where a fall is possible? Think roofs, ladders, scaffolding, trucks or even at ground level (or below ground level) near trenches and service pits.

Falls from heights are a major cause of fatalities and serious injuries at work in Australia.

Inappropriate consideration of the hazards associated with working at heights (and non-compliance with the relevant legislation) are also the cause of many prosecutions each year.

For example, in March, a guttering company was charged and fined over $280,000 after one of their workers suffered an injury when he fell approximately two metres from a makeshift ladder platform to the ground while installing new roof gutters in New South Wales.

Likewise, in February, a roofing truss manufacturer was fined $40,000 over a lack of fall protection at a building site in Victoria, despite no incidents occurring.

How do you avoid prosecution, or worse, an injury or death? It’s not hard. You just need to understand the rules and implement the right safety measures.

This is where working at heights training comes in. As an employer and worker, you are legally obliged to make sure you and your employees are trained to do your jobs safely.

Our one-day course is designed to give you the knowledge and skills to work safely at height in various situations. We’ve also recently launched the ability for individuals to complete the theory component of this course online before attending the practical training (half day).

Our two-day course is for supervisors of teams working at height, and anyone needing to develop and test rescue plans for work at heights (which is a requirement where any fall arrest system is in use).

Similarly, if you have a group with specific work requirements (such as tower crane rescue, pole-top rescue, jump form rescue or EWP rescue), we can contextualise our course to your worksite.

You can book your training online, or feel free to call us on 1300 990 810 to discuss your specific requirements.

Remember, state safety regulators regularly inspect work sites to check compliance. Don’t get caught out.

In the words of WorkSafe Victoria Executive Director of Health and Safety, Julie Nielsen, “It’s crucial that all workers are appropriately trained, equipped and supervised to do their jobs safely.”

“Falls from height are among the biggest killers of Victorian workers and WorkSafe will not hesitate to take action against employers who fail to address well-known safety hazards.”