Alice Springs fuel company charged $140K for worker death

Indervon has pleaded guilty in the Alice Springs Local Court for failing to provide adequate training, instruction and supervision, which led to the death of one of its drivers. The fuel distribution company was convicted and fined $140,000 for breaching Section 32 of the Work health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011. The company was also required to pay a victims levy of $1000.

The incident occurred in July 2017, when a 51-year-old worker, in his fourth week of employment as a fuel truck driver with Indervon, delivered fuel unsupervised along the Maryvale Road. The driver failed to negotiate a curve on an unsealed portion of the road approximately 74 km south of Alice Springs.

“The unsealed outback roads in Central Australia present a range of hazards to drivers who are unfamiliar with the conditions. A large proportion of worker fatalities in the Northern Territory involve a vehicle collision, with a majority of those crashes occurring outside of urban areas,” said Melissa Garde, Acting Executive of NT WorkSafe.

An investigation by NT WorkSafe into the incident raised questions around the worker’s ability to safely operate the fuel truck. Garde emphasised the importance of employers providing appropriate training, instruction and supervision to workers, to ensure their safety.

“Employers need to go beyond checking the worker holds the correct licence to operate the work vehicle. Employers also need to make sure they provide the worker with appropriate training and instruction to safely operate the vehicle in the conditions they may encounter,” Garde said.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Boggy