A CONSTRUCTION company has been charged after a worker suffered serious injuries in a fall at a Carrum Downs worksite.
A WorkSafe statement read that a 28-year-old man on an a-frame ladder fell roughly four metres to the ground in March 2024, leaving him with serious head and spinal injuries. He was allegedly using a chainsaw to cut a tree branch.
Last week, WorkSafe confirmed that IntraAust Properties Pty Ltd had been charged under section 21(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to provide and maintain, so far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that was safe and without risks to health.
“WorkSafe alleges the company twice breached section 21(2)(a) of the OHS Act by failing to engage a qualified arborist or tree removal specialist and failing to provide a temporary work platform or a telescopic long chainsaw for employees,” the Worksafe statement read. “It is also alleged the company breached regulation 44(2) the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations by failing to reduce the risks associated with a fall by using a passive fall prevention device and regulation 327(1)(a) of the OHS Regulations by failing to prepare a safe work method statement (SWMS) for the work.
“The company faces an additional two charges under section 26(1) of the OHS Act for failing to ensure a workplace under its management and control was safe and without risks to health.”
The matter was scheduled for the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 20 March.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 24 March 2026