SafeWork NSW v Southern Meats Pty Ltd [2023] NSWDC 204

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: SafeWork NSW v Southern Meats Pty Ltd [2023] NSWDC 204 Hearing dates: 24 September 2020, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 21 May 2021, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 17 March 2022, 24 September 2022 Date of orders: 16 June 2023 Decision date: 16 June 2023 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Strathdee DCJ Decision: 1 The prosecution has not proved all of the elements of the offence beyond reasonable doubt. 2 I will not enter final orders until the prosecution has had an opportunity to consider an application pursuant to s 5AE of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW). 3 I list the matter for further directions before me on 14 July 2023 to determine the appropriate course. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – prosecution – work health and safety – duty of persons undertaking business – risk of death or serious injury PROCEDURAL-elements of the offence- whether the defendant owed a health and safety duty – whether there was a failure to comply with that duty- whether that failure exposed workers to the risk of death or serious injury PROCEDURAL – reasonable practicability – likelihood of the risk – knowledge of the risk – what the defendant ought reasonably to have known WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY – whether pleaded measures reasonably practicable – safety management system-objective knowledge of defendant – reasonably foreseeable OTHER Legislation Cited: Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW) Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (NSW) Cases Cited: Baiada Poultry Pty Ltd v The Queen [2012] HCA 14 Bulga Underground Operations Pty Limited v Nash [2016] NSWCCA 37 Carrington Slipways Pty Ltd v Callaghan (1985) 11 IR 467 Cullen v State Rail Authority (NSW) (1989) 31 IR 207 Director of Public Prosecutions v JCS Fabrications Pty Ltd and JMAL Group Pty Ltd [2019] VSCA 50 Drake Personnel Ltd t/as Drake Industrial v WorkCover Authority of NSW (Inspector Ching) [1999] NSWIRComm 341 Dunlop Rubber Australia Ltd v Buckley (1952) 87 CLR 313 Edwards v National Coal Board [1949] 1 KB 704 Genner Constructions Pty Ltd v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales [2001] NSWIRComm 267 Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd v Robertson (unreported WASC 2 October 1998) Holmes v R E Spence & Co Pty Ltd (1992) 5 VIR 119 Inspector Ching v Bros Bins Systems Pty Ltd [2004] NSWIRComm 197 Kirk v Industrial Relations Commission; Kirk Group Holdings Pty Ltd v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Childs) (2010) 239 CLR 531 Kirwin v Pilbara Infrastructure Pty Ltd [2012] WASC 99 Marshall v Gotham [1954] AC 360 Moore v R [2010] NSWCCA 185 Orr v Cobar Management Pty Ltd [2019] NSWDC 796 Orr v Hunter Quarries Pty Ltd [2019] NSWDC 634 Orr v Perilya Broken Hill Limited [2018] NSWDC 28 R v Australian Char Pty Ltd [1999] 3 V.R. 834 R v Board of Trustees of the Science Museum [1993] 1 WLR 1171 R v Commercial Industrial Construction Group Pty Ltd [2006] VSCA 181 R v Nelson Group Services (Maintenance) Ltd [1998] 4 ER 331 Royall v The Queen (1991) 172 CLR 378 SafeWork NSW v Grasso Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd; SafeWork NSW v Ignazio Grasso [2019] NSWDC 792 SafeWork NSW v McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust) Pty Limited (No 2) [2020] NSWDC 668 SafeWork NSW v Tamex Transport Services Pty Ltd [2016] NSWDC 295 Slivak v Lurgi (Australia) Pty Ltd [2001] HCA 6; 205 CLR 304; 177 ALR 585; 75 ALJR 481 (15 February 2001) State Rail Authority v Dawson (1990) 37 IR 110 at 120-121 Theiss Pty Ltd v Industrial Court of New South Wales [2010] NSWCA 252 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Twynam-Perkins) v Maine Lighting Pty Limited (1995) 100 IR 248 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales v Kirk Group Holdings Pty Ltd (2004) 135 IR 166 Texts Cited: Safety Guideline 21: Traffic Management Category: Principal judgment Parties: SafeWork NSW (Prosecutor) Southern Meats Pty Ltd (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr M Cahill (for the Prosecutor) Mr B Hodgkinson SC and Mr N Read (for the Defendant)