Inspector Barber v Tegra Australia Pty Ltd [2012] NSWIRComm 67

Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Inspector Barber v Tegra Australia Pty Ltd [2012] NSWIRComm 67 Hearing dates: 18 June 2012 Decision date: 04 July 2012 Jurisdiction: Industrial Court of NSW Before: Boland J, President Decision: (1) The defendant is convicted of an offence under s 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000. (2) The defendant is fined an amount of $80,000 with a moiety to the prosecutor. (3) The defendant shall pay the prosecutor's costs as agreed or assessed. Catchwords: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY - Prosecution under s 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 - Worker suffered serious injury when working at a concrete batching plant - Uncontrolled release of cement powder during batching operations - Lack of breathing masks - Large quantity of cement dust inhaled by worker - Plea of guilty - Sentencing - Objective and subjective considerations - Penalty imposed - Costs Legislation Cited: Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 Cases Cited: Bruce Lloyd Dowling v Overtop Pty. Limited [1998] NSWIRComm 509; (1998) 86 IR 319 Capral Aluminum Limited v WorkCover Authority of NSW [2000] NSWIRComm 71; (2000) 49 NSWLR 610. Category: Principal judgment Parties: Inspector Mark Barber (Prosecutor) Tegra Australia Pty Ltd (Defendant) Representation: Mr C Magee of counsel (Prosecutor) WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Prosecutor) Mr P Thompson, solicitor (Defendant) Sparke Helmore Lawyers File Number(s): IRC 1733 of 2011