Fraser Coast Regional Council faces Hervey Bay Magistrates Court

A Qld council has faced court for failing to notify the regulator about an excavator near-miss.

The council pleaded guilty to one count of failing to ensure the regulator was notified of a notifiable incident stemming from September 28, 2023.

Failing to inform the proper authorities of a dangerous incident involving a defective piece of equipment has cost the Fraser Coast Regional Council $5000.

The council pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court to one count of failing to ensure the regulator was told of a notifiable incident stemming from September 28, 2023.

The court heard on that date, two employees from Wide Bay Water were carrying out work to replace a water main at Denman Camp Rd, which included pipes being placed within a trench, which was 1.7m deep.

At the worksite was an excavator and a bucket attachment, with the bucket being attached to the excavator using a quick hitch.

One of the workers was in the trench and the other was using the excavator, the court heard.

The bucket attachment was on the excavator, but the worker failed to engage the safety lock on the quick hitch, which operated to secure the bucket to the excavator, the court was told, as he had become distracted by surrounding trees.

As the worker moved the excavator arm with the attached bucket towards the trench where the other man was working, the bucket attachment fell from the excavator into the trench, narrowly missing the man below, the court heard.

The incident was raised internally within the council the same day, the court heard.

Magistrate Trinity McGarvie said in the facts that she had read, it had been indicated that the item of equipment was defective at that time as normally it would have automatic securing mechanism but it had been known to fail, which was why it also needed to be secured manually.

The was confirmed by the representative from Workplace Health and Safety.

The representative said on October 4, 2023, the excavator involved in the incident was again used as part of the project and a complaint was made about it.

An incident form was then completed and left on the desk of a council officer, who was on leave.

When he returned from leave, he notified the safety manager of the incident, who recognised it as something that should have been notified with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.

That was done three weeks after the incident, the court heard.

The delay in reporting meant there had been no opportunity for Workplace Health and Safety to gather evidence and investigate while the scene was fresh or inspect the defective equipment, the court heard.

An investigation was then commenced and the council was issued with a number of infringement notices, including one for failing to notify the regulator.

The maximum penalty for the charge was $50,000.

The court heard the council had no history of prior offences.

The council’s legal representative said the incident had led to the way in which incidents and notifiable events were reported being completely updated and transformed.

A fully electronic incident reporting system called Beacon was now operational within the council, the court was told, which had essentially brought the council out of the 1990s into the 2020s in that regard.

Failing to inform the proper authorities of a workplace incident has landed the Fraser Coast Regional Council before court.

The paper-based system had “fallen apart” because there was no check on what happened in that instance, the court heard.

Training had also taken place across the organisation in relation to notifiable incidents and Safety Australia had been employed to educate staff.

Ms McGarvie said at the time of the incident, the two council workers had been at the site, replacing a water main.

The excavator with the bucket attachment had two safety switches, she said, one of which was manually engaged.

But at the time there was a fault in the safety knuckle that meant it would not automatically engaged, meaning the worker had to manually ensure it was safely engaged.

On that day the worker had become distracted by the trees and had not engaged the safety lock on the quick hitch.

The bucket had fallen when he moved the excavator arm, narrowly missing the worker below, Ms McGarvie said.

She said it was clear the incident had exposed the worker to a “severe risk”.

Although the incident was raised with a team leader that day, no other action was taken.

When the excavator was used again on October 4, the alarm was raised via an internal complaint, but the officer who was alerted about the incident was on leave and the matter wasn’t reported to Workplace Health and Safety until three weeks after the incident.

Because of the delay, the opportunity to conduct an investigation was lost, Ms McGarvie said.

Ms McGarvie said the council had immediately taken steps to overhaul the system by which notifiable events were treated.

The council had also co-operated with investigators, who had issued a number of improvement notices.

Training had also been provided to its workers, she said.

The council was fined $5000 and no conviction was recorded.