Inspector Hinton v Tekman & Tekman Group Pty Ltd [2011] NSWIRComm 149

Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Inspector Hinton v Tekman & Tekman Group Pty Ltd [2011] NSWIRComm 149 Hearing dates: 26 September & 24 October 2011 Decision date: 09 November 2011 Jurisdiction: Industrial Court of NSW Before: Marks J Decision: 1. Each of the defendants is found guilty of the offence charged and convicted accordingly. 2. A monetary penalty of $80,000 is imposed on Tekman Group Pty Ltd and of $8,000 on Hassan Tekman with a moiety in each case to the prosecutor. 3. The defendants are to pay the costs of the prosecutor in an amount assessed in default of agreement in such proportion as the penalty imposed on each of them bears to the aggregate of the penalties. Catchwords: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY - breach of s 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 - personal defendant deemed guilty of same offence by virtue of s 26 - early guilty pleas - appropriate penalty - objective seriousness - inadequate site induction - inadequate risk assessment - general and specific deterrence - remorse and contrition - cooperation with the WorkCover Authority - inappropriate in circumstances to apply s10 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 - penalties imposed Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 - s 10 Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 - s 8(1), s 26 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Inspector Jamie Hinton of WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Prosecutor) Hasan Tekman (First defendant) Tekman Group Pty Ltd (Second defendant) Representation: Mr P Ginters of counsel (Prosecutor) Mr P Kintominas of counsel (First and second defendants) DLA Piper Australia (Prosecutor) Senses Legal (First and second defendants) File Number(s): IRC 1391 of 2010 IRC 1392 of 2010