Inspector Cooper v J I T Offset Pty Ltd [2013] NSWIRComm 90

Inspector Cooper v J I T Offset Pty Ltd [2013] NSWIRComm 90

The defendants' admitted failures concerning the unguarded nip point on the Varimat printing press created a foreseeable risk of serious hand injury during regular varnish plate changes. Although the defendants had safety systems, training, supervision and risk assessments, those systems failed to identify or control the risk. The breaches were serious but towards the lower end of the scale. Mitigating factors included early guilty pleas, cooperation, contrition, remedial measures and corporate citizenship, but deterrence and prior convictions remained relevant. Zac's Packs Pty Ltd bore greater culpability than J I T Offset Pty Ltd because of its role, the additional failure to ensure an...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
10 October 2013
Procedural Posture
Occupational Health and Safety Prosecution for Breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 / Penalty After Guilty Pleas to Amended Applications for Order
Outcome
Both defendants were found guilty on their guilty pleas and fined, with half of each fine payable to the prosecutor by way of moiety, and each ordered to pay the prosecutor's costs.
Legal Topics
['unguarded Machinery' 'failure to Ensure Health, Safety and Welfare at Work' 'risk Assessment' 'foreseeability of Risk' 'general and Specific Deterrence' 'parity Principle' 'early Guilty Plea']
['occupational Health and Safety' 'industrial Law' 'sentencing'] ['unguarded Machinery' 'failure to Ensure Health, Safety and Welfare at Work' 'risk Assessment' 'foreseeability of Risk' 'general and Specific Deterrence' 'parity Principle' 'early Guilty Plea']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Occupational Health and Safety Prosecution for Breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 / Penalty After Guilty Pleas to Amended Applications for Order

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['What penalty should be imposed on J I T Offset Pty Ltd for its admitted breach of s 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000.' "What penalty should be imposed on Zac's Packs Pty Ltd for its admitted breach of s 8(2) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000." 'How the Court should assess objective seriousness, foreseeability, injury, deterrence, prior convictions, mitigation and parity between the defendants.']

Ratio Decidendi

The defendants' admitted failures concerning the unguarded nip point on the Varimat printing press created a foreseeable risk of serious hand injury during regular varnish plate changes. Although the defendants had safety systems, training, supervision and risk assessments, those systems failed to identify or control the risk. The breaches were serious but towards the lower end of the scale. Mitigating factors included early guilty pleas, cooperation, contrition, remedial measures and corporate citizenship, but deterrence and prior convictions remained relevant. Zac's Packs Pty Ltd bore greater culpability than J I T Offset Pty Ltd because of its role, the additional failure to ensure an...

Court Disposition

Both defendants were found guilty on their guilty pleas and fined, with half of each fine payable to the prosecutor by way of moiety, and each ordered to pay the prosecutor's costs.

Orders

  • ["In relation to Zac's Packs Pty Ltd: the defendant, Zac's Packs Pty Ltd, is found guilty of a breach of s 8(2) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 as particularised in the amended application for order in Matter No IRC 1627 of 2011 to which the defendant entered a plea of guilty." "In relation to Zac's...