SafeWork NSW v Auen Grain Pty Ltd and SafeWork NSW v Merrywinebone Pty Ltd [2015] NSWDC 229

SafeWork NSW v Auen Grain Pty Ltd and SafeWork NSW v Merrywinebone Pty Ltd [2015] NSWDC 229

The defendants were criminally responsible for failures by an employee whose acts constituted the company's breach of duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000, but lack of foreseeability and good systems reduced culpability; a significant penalty was imposed on one defendant reflecting the gravity of...

Source-derived case information.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
22 September 2015
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Sentence
Outcome
The defendant Auen Grain Pty Ltd is convicted and fined $41,250. Merrywinebone Pty Ltd is convicted but no penalty is imposed. Both are ordered to pay the prosecutor's costs.
Legal Topics
['employer Duty of Care' 'workplace Injury' 'failure to Ensure Safety' 'guilty Plea' 'sentencing' 'joint Enterprise']
['occupational Health and Safety Law' 'criminal Law'] ['employer Duty of Care' 'workplace Injury' 'failure to Ensure Safety' 'guilty Plea' 'sentencing' 'joint Enterprise']

Source-derived case record

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Procedural Posture

Criminal / Sentence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the defendants failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees under s 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000' 'Culpability of the companies for the acts/omissions of an individual employee (farm manager)' 'Appropriate sentencing considerations for the breach']

Ratio Decidendi

The defendants were criminally responsible for failures by an employee whose acts constituted the company's breach of duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000, but lack of foreseeability and good systems reduced culpability; a significant penalty was imposed on one defendant reflecting the gravity of injury and general deterrence, mitigated by plea and cooperation.

Court Disposition

The defendant Auen Grain Pty Ltd is convicted and fined $41,250. Merrywinebone Pty Ltd is convicted but no penalty is imposed. Both are ordered to pay the prosecutor's costs.

Orders

  • ["Auen Grain Pty Ltd is convicted and fined $41,250. WorkCover is to have a moiety of the fine. The defendant is to pay the prosecutor's costs in the sum of $20,677.98." "Merrywinebone Pty Ltd is convicted, no penalty imposed, and is to pay the prosecutor's costs in the sum of $20,677.98."]