WorkSafe Victoria investigate death of 56-year-old construction worker at Doncaster East site

A man has died after he fell two metres while pouring concrete at a construction site.

A 56-year-old worker has died after falling more than two meters while working at a residential construction site in Melbourne’s east.

The man sustained life-threatening head injuries while pouring concrete at the Doncaster East construction site on March 26.

WorkSafe Victoria has since launched an investigation after the man died in hospital two days later on March 28.

SafeWork Victoria is investigating the death of a construction worker in Melbourne’s East. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

The death is the 11th confirmed workplace fatality in Victoria in 2024, compared to the 18 work-related deaths at the same time last year.

WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety Narelle Beer said it was frustrating because falls from height were preventable, yet remained a top cause of workplace harm in Victoria.

“A fall can happen in just seconds but the consequences can last a lifetime, including devastating injuries and loss of life,” Dr Beer said.

“It might be easy to think that a tragic incident will never happen on your site, but if safety is not the top priority every day then the chances are high that it will.”

There have been more than 400 claims made in 2023 after construction workers were injured during a fall at work. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Dr Beer said WorkSafe inspectors had conducted more than 3,700 visits to construction sites this year across the state and had issued more than 1,100 notices.

“We have a dedicated team of inspectors visiting sites across the state and there is zero tolerance for employers who fail to take the well-known risks of falls seriously,” she said.

Nine workers died in Victoria in 2023 as a result of a fall from height, including four in the construction industry.

More than 400 claims were also accepted from construction workers injured in a fall from height in 2023.

Originally published as WorkSafe Victoria investigate death of 56-year-old construction worker at Doncaster East site