Inspector Nicholson v Sawmaa [2011] NSWIRComm 38

Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Inspector Nicholson v Sawmaa [2011] NSWIRComm 38 Hearing dates: 16 April 2010 Decision date: 11 April 2011 Jurisdiction: Industrial Court of NSW Before: Marks J Decision: 1) The defendant is found guilty of the offence with which he is charged and convicted accordingly. 2) The Court imposes a monetary penalty of $13,000 with a moiety to the prosecutor. 3) The defendant is to pay the costs of the prosecutor in an amount assessed under the Legal Profession Act in default of agreement. Catchwords: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY - defendant deemed guilty of s 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 by virtue of s 26(1) - early guilty plea -appropriate penalty - inadequate safety procedures and risk assessment - objective seriousness - serious breach - general and specific deterrence - remorse and contrition - cooperation with prosecutor - no prior convictions - relative culpability - orders made Legislation Cited: Fines Act 1996 - s 6 Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 - s 8(1), s 26 Cases Cited: Drake Personnel Ltd t/as Drake Industrial v WorkCover (1999) 90 IR 432 Inspector Nicholson v Ibrahim [2011] NSWIRComm 39 Inspector Nicholson v Mackey [2010] NSWIRComm 159 Inspector Nicholson v Mackey (No 2) [2011] NSWIRComm 40 Inspector Nicholson v Nahed [2011] NSWIRComm 41 Inspector Nicholson v Pymble No 1 & Molinara (No 2) [2010] NSWIRComm 151 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Inspector Anthony Nicholson (Prosecutor) Alex Sawmaa (Defendant) Representation: Mr R Reitano of counsel (Prosecutor) Mr T Bland of counsel (Defendant) Legal Group, WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Prosecutor) C&M Lawyers (Defendant) File Number(s): IRC 622 of 2009