Morrison v Powercoal Pty Ltd & Anor [2004] NSWIRComm 297

Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales in Court Session

CITATION : Morrison v Powercoal Pty Ltd & Anor [2004] NSWIRComm 297 APPELLANT Rodney Morrison

PARTIES : FIRST RESPONDENT Powercoal Pty Limited

SECOND RESPONDENT Peter Foster FILE NUMBER: IRC 7068 and 7069 of 2003 CORAM: Walton J Vice-President; Boland J; Staff J Appeal - Leave to appeal - Occupational Health and Safety - Coal Mining Industry - Employee fatally injured when roof collapsed - Whether trial judge erred in dismissing charges against corporate respondent under s 15(1) of Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983 - Consideration of risk - Causation - Defences under s 53 of Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983 - Charge against personal respondent under s 50(1) of Occupational Health and Safety Act - Elements of charge under s 50(1) - Onus under s 50(1) - Meaning of "concerned with the management of" - Whether defences under s 53 are available to personal respondent in addition to defences under s 50 - Leave to appeal granted - Appeal upheld - Guilty findings in respect of both the corporate and the personal respondent CATCHWORDS : Occupational Health and Safety - Appeal - Leave to appeal - Coal Mining Industry - Employee fatally injured when roof collapsed - Whether trial judge erred in dismissing charges against corporate respondent under s 15(1) of Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983 - Consideration of risk - Causation - Defences under s 53 of Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983 - Charge against personal respondent under s 50(1) of Occupational Health and Safety Act - Elements of charge under s 50(1) - Onus under s 50(1) - Meaning of "concerned with the management of" - Whether defences under s 53 are available to personal respondent in addition to defences under s 50 - Leave to appeal granted - Appeal upheld - Guilty findings in respect of both the corporate and the personal respondent Coal Mines Regulation Act 1982 s 46 LEGISLATION CITED : Industrial Relations Act 1996 s 197A Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983 s 15(1) and s 50(1) s 53 Cain v Doyle (1946) 72 CLR 409 Carrington Slipways Pty Ltd v Callaghan (1985) 11 IR 467 Commissioner for Corporate Affairs v Bracht [1989] VR 821 Drake Personnel t/as Drake Industrial v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Ch'ng) (1999) 90 IR 432 Edwards v National Coal Board [1949] KB 704 Ferguson v Nelmac Pty Limited (1999) 92 IR 188 Griggs v Australian Securities Commission (1999) 75 SASR 307 Haynes v CI & D Manufacturing (1995) 60 IR 149 Knowles v Anglican Church Property Trust (No 2) (1999) 95 IR 380 Lam (1990) 46 A Crim R 402 Legge v Coffey Engineering Pty Ltd (No 2) (2001) 110 IR 447 McMartin v Broken Hill Pty Ltd (2000) 100 IR 241 Morrison v Powercoal Pty Ltd [2003] NSWIRComm 342 Morrison v Tahmoor Coal (2002) 120 IR 153 O'Sullivan v The Crown in the Right of the State of New South Wales (Department of Education and Training) (2003) 125 IR 361 R v Brian John Buckett (1995) 79 A Crim R 302 R v Pasta Master Pty Ltd and Conway (unreported, Holt J, 16 August 2000) CASES CITED : R v The Mayor, Councillors and Citizens of the City of Dandenong and Noel Henry Bailey (unreported, Stott J, 31 October 1991) Riley v Australian Grader Hire [2001] NSWIRComm 31 Scott v R (1990) 20 NSWLR 72 Shannon v Comalco Aluminium Ltd (1986) 19 IR 358 Slivak v Lurgi (Australia) Pty Ltd (2001) 205 CLR 304 SRA (New South Wales) v Dawson (1990) 37 IR 110 Stephen Finlay McMartin v Newcastle Wallsend Coal Company Pty Limited & Ors [2004] NSWIRComm 202 Sydney Wide Distributors Pty Ltd v Red Bull Australia Pty Ltd [2002] FCAFC 157 Tannous v R (1987) 10 NSWLR 303 WorkCover Authority (Mayo-Ramsay) v Maitland City Council (1998) 83 IR 362 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Bultitude) v Grice Constructions Pty Limited (2002) 115 IR 59 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Byer) v Cleary Bros (Bombo) Pty Ltd (2001) 110 IR 182 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Childs) v Kirk Group Holdings Pty Limited and Anor [2004] NSWIRComm 207 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Keelty) v Crown in the Right of the State of New South Wales (Police Service of New South Wales) (No 2) (2001) 104 IR 268 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Moore) v Blacktown City Council (2003) 124 IR 59 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Smith) v Dubavo Pty Ltd (unreported, CT 93/1247-1249, 24 July 1995) WorkCover Authority of NSW (Inspector Glass) v Kellogg (Aust) Pty Ltd (No 1) (2000) 101 IR 239 WorkCover v Arbor Products International (Australia) Pty Limited (2001) 105 IR 81 HEARING DATES: 07/05/2004; 07/06/2004; 09/24/2004 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 11/18/2004