Contractor charged over fatal brick wall collapse

WorkSafe Victoria has charged contractor Horsham Back-hoe Pty Ltd with two alleged breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to provide a safe working environment, following the death of a worker at a residential building site in Ballarat.

The 56-year-old man was crushed when a brick wall collapsed onto him during demolition work at the Mount Pleasant property in September 2019. The company’s alleged failure to establish and maintain an exclusion zone around live demolition areas breached section 21(2) (c) of the OHS Act.

WorkSafe Victoria also alleges that the company failed to provide the information, instruction and training needed to enable its workers to perform their work safely, thereby breaching section 21(2) (e) of the OHS Act.

The matter was addressed at a filing hearing at the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on 19 February 2021.

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