Regan v UGM Engineers Pty Ltd [2011] NSWIRComm 90

Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Regan v UGM Engineers Pty Ltd [2011] NSWIRComm 90 Hearing dates: 22 June 2011 Decision date: 07 July 2011 Jurisdiction: Industrial Court of NSW Before: Marks J Decision: 1) UGM Engineers Pty Ltd is found guilty of the offence with which it is charged and convicted accordingly. 2) A penalty of $55,000 is imposed with a moiety to the prosecutor. 3) The defendant is to pay the costs of the prosecutor, assessed in default of agreement. Catchwords: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY - breach of s 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 - guilty plea - appropriate penalty - objective seriousness - labour hire business - employees acting foolishly - foreseeable injury - prior commitment to occupational health and safety obligations - remorse and contrition - serious commitment to safety procedures since incident - good corporate citizen - order under s 10A inappropriate in circumstances - no order under s 114 - general and specific deterrence - no prior convictions -- penalty imposed - orders made Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 - s 10A Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 - s 8(1), s 114 Cases Cited: Coombs v Patrick Stevedores Holdings Pty Ltd [2005] NSWIRComm 56 Geoff Derrick v ANZ Group Limited (No 2) [2005] NSWIRComm 145 Inspector Short v The Crown in the Right of the State of New South Wales (NSW Police) [2007] NSWIRComm 138 Morrison v Liddell Coal Preparation Pty Ltd [2011] NSWIRComm 46 R v Wilhelm [2010] NSWSC 378 Robert William Regan v Perilya Broken Hill Limited [2011] NSWIRComm 13 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Robert William Regan (Prosecutor) UGM Engineers Pty Ltd (Defendant) Representation: Mr P Skinner of counsel (Prosecutor) Mr J Hor (solicitor for Defendant) Crown Solicitors (Prosecutor) People & Culture Strategies File Number(s):