WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Templeton) v Narromine Shire Council [2004] NSWIRComm 228

Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales in Court Session

CITATION : WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Templeton) v Narromine Shire Council [2004] NSWIRComm 228 PROSECUTOR: Inspector Amanda Templeton PARTIES : DEFENDANT: Narromine Shire Council FILE NUMBER: 5289 of 2003 CORAM: Staunton J CATCHWORDS : Occupational health and safety - plea of guilty - defendant is a previous offender - objective seriousness of the offence - obvious foreseeability of risk to safety - readily and easily available remediation steps which could have been taken by the defendant before the accident to prevent the injury occurring - defendant has since acted comprehensively to undertake relevant remediation steps to ensure a risk-free environment for its employees - general and specific deterrence applicable - defendants need to husband limited financial resources - plea entered at the earliest opportunity - defendant entitled to a discount on that basis - additional subjective features - defendant convicted - penalty imposed - order as to costs as agreed. LEGISLATION CITED : Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 Fines Act 1996 Lawrenson Die Casting Pty Limited v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Ch'ng) (1999) 90 IR 464 CASES CITED : Genner Constructions Pty Ltd v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Guillarte) (2001) 110 IR 57 Capral Aluminium Ltd v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (2000) 99 IR 29 R v Thompson, Rv Houlton [2000] NSWCCA 309 HEARING DATES: 08/10/2004 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 08/10/2004