SafeWork NSW v Williams Timber Pty Ltd; SafeWork NSW v Easy Fall Guttering Pty Ltd [2021] NSWCCA 233

SafeWork NSW v Williams Timber Pty Ltd; SafeWork NSW v Easy Fall Guttering Pty Ltd [2021] NSWCCA 233

The sentencing judge erred in treating the costs order as punitive and in denying procedural fairness by not alerting the parties to the possibility of no costs order, but the appellate court exercised its discretion not to intervene since the overall penalties imposed already reflected the respondents' means and no appeal lay against the quantum of fines.

Parties
Appellant: SafeWork NSW; Respondent: Williams Timber Pty Ltd; Respondent: Easy Fall Guttering Pty Ltd
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
01 October 2021
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Appeal Against Refusal to Make Costs Order After Sentence
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Costs in Criminal Proceedings, Procedural Fairness, Sentencing, Criminal Appeals
Criminal Law Work Health and Safety Costs in Criminal Proceedings Procedural Fairness Sentencing Criminal Appeals

Case Brief

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Parties

SafeWork NSW

Appellant

Williams Timber Pty Ltd

Respondent

Easy Fall Guttering Pty Ltd

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Appeal Against Refusal to Make Costs Order After Sentence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the trial judge erred in refusing to make a costs order in favour of the prosecutor
  2. 2 Whether the denial of a costs order to the prosecutor constituted a denial of procedural fairness
  3. 3 Whether the trial judge erred by treating costs as punitive rather than compensatory

Ratio Decidendi

The sentencing judge erred in treating the costs order as punitive and in denying procedural fairness by not alerting the parties to the possibility of no costs order, but the appellate court exercised its discretion not to intervene since the overall penalties imposed already reflected the respondents' means and no appeal lay against the quantum of fines.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed

Orders

  • In SafeWork v Williams Timber Pty Ltd: Appeal dismissed.
  • In SafeWork v Easy Fall Guttering Pty Ltd: Appeal dismissed.