A high-profile workplace fatality that spurred the introduction of industrial manslaughter laws in Western Australia has reached its conclusion in the Magistrates Court six years after the tragic event.
A high-profile workplace fatality that spurred the introduction of industrial manslaughter laws in Western Australia has reached its conclusion in the Magistrates Court six years after the tragic event.
Construction company manager Luke Fraser Corderoy has been fined $60,000 and ordered to pay $45,813 in costs over the death of 17-year-old Wesley Ballantine.
Mr Ballantine fell to his death inside the old GPO building in Forrest Place during a construction project in 2017.
His mother, Regan Ballantine, became the public face of a campaign for tougher penalties for workplace safety breaches.
The McGowan government has subsequently lifted penalties and introduced new offences, which mean an incident like Mr Ballantine’s death would today be subject to much larger fines.
Mrs Ballantine said today’s sentencing was significant because it showed individuals could be penalised.
“It will act as an incentive for directors and managers to show more accountability,” she told Business News.
“People will think twice about workplace safety now.”
Mrs Ballantine also commended the WA government for its reforms.
“Its now up to industry to clean up their act,” she said.
Mr Corderoy, who was a manager of sub-contractor Industrial Construction Services, was found guilty of failing to provide and maintain a work environment free from hazards and that the incident occurred with his consent or was attributable to his neglect.
He faced a maximum fine of $200,000. That figure has since been more than doubled, with a possible fine of up to $680,000.
In sentencing Mr Corderoy, the magistrate said he knew of the unsafe conditions and neglected to put a stop to them.
The magistrate added that Mr Corderoy was not the only person who should have done something and did not.
ICS director Adam Tony Forsyth faced the same charge but WorkSafe halted his prosecution after it learned Mr Forsyth had been sentenced to a long jail term in New Zealand on drugs charges.
ICS was charged with failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and, by that failure, causing death.
The company was found guilty in 2021 and fined $320,000 (out of a maximum penalty of $400,000) and ordered to pay $22,200 in costs.
The main contractor on the GPO project, Valmont WA, was convicted of the less serious charge of failing to ensure that persons who were not their employees were not exposed to hazards.
It was fined $38,000 in 2020.
ICS had been engaged as a subcontractor to construct and install a steel and glass atrium roof between two floors in the GPO building, which was being converted into an H&M store.
In January 2017, workers were on night shift installing the glass panels in the atrium roof.
At around 4.15am on January 5, Mr Ballantine fell through an open void in the atrium framework to the ground floor around 12 metres below.
Despite the fact that there were several open voids in the framework and workers were expected to work close to them, there was no adequate fall injury prevention system present for workers to connect their harnesses to.
As ICS’s manager of the H&M job, Mr Corderoy had responsibility for the safety of the workers.
WorkSafe commissioner Darren Kavanagh said the lack of a safe fall injury prevention system in place was a serious failing.
“There was no adequate risk assessment for the glass installation and no Safe Work Method Statement was implemented,” he said.
“ICS secured plywood boards on top of the steel frame before the glass panels were installed, but a number of voids were left open as there was not enough boards to cover the openings.
“At the time of the incident, the only fall prevention measure in place was for workers to sling onto the steel framework using slings along the steel beams connected to their lanyard and a safety harness.
“The fall prevention system was inadequate because workers were exposed to the fall hazard when moving from one beam to another.
“The tragic death of this young worker should remind everyone of the importance of having safe systems of work in place to prevent falls from height and actually using these safe systems.
”I’m pleased that the court has found that Mr Corderoy did not provide and maintain a safe workplace for his workers, and that he has been penalised accordingly.
“This incident has caused an enormous amount of trauma, and I hope that the finalisation of these court cases can provide some closure for Wesley Ballantine’s mother and family.”
