‘I wake up in the middle of the night haunted’: Apprentice speaks out after callous toolbox stunt

A teenage apprentice who was locked in a ute toolbox and driven down a road by a plumber says he remains “haunted” by the event and still suffers “flashbacks” three years on.

Jenson Curtin was just 17 and suffering from a pre-existing brain injury when he was thrown into the back of a toolbox and driven down a road.

The fallout from a dangerous and callous workplace prank at the hands of a high country plumber has left a family reeling two years later and the government promising change.

Jenson Curtin, 19, was thrown into the back of a toolbox on a utility vehicle and driven 30km down a road outside Mansfield while his boss at the time, James Herz, 31, laughed at his pleas for help.

Mr Curtin said he was still “haunted” by the events of February 2022, which had made it hard for him to trust others and caused him to have trouble sleeping and concentrating on everyday tasks.

Plumber James Herz drove 30km with a vulnerable apprentice trapped in his ute's toolbox, endangering the teen's life.

Traumatic incidents like the one still affecting Mr Curtin have prompted the Victorian government to launch a $9m package to improve safety and mental health support for apprentices and trainees.

The reforms, to be announced on Wednesday, follow an investigation into apprentice safety headed by former Australian Council of Trade Unions president Sharan Burrow.

“We’re backing all the recommendations made by the Apprenticeship Taskforce with this $9m package which will deliver the fair, safe workplace every apprentice deserves,” Skills and TAFE Minister Gayle Tierney said.

A key plank of the reforms will be a central helpdesk to provide a single point of contact for employers and employees.

Three new mental health programs will offer services such as free counselling to apprentices.

“Apprentices and trainees are crucial to building for Victoria’s future – we’re supporting them with the healthy and respectful workplaces to make sure they can stay on the job,” Industrial Relations Minister Tim Pallas said.

The Victorian government has launched a $9m package to improve safety and mental health support for apprentices and trainees. Picture: Supplied

The government has also given in-principal support to the establishment of a dedicated regulator to make the apprenticeship system easier to navigate for young people.

About 77,000 people work as apprentices in Victoria amid an overall shortage of skilled tradies across the nation.

Mr Herz’s cruel treatment of Mr Curtin was “totally unacceptable”, a government spokesperson said.

The disgraced plumber was fined $20,000 for his actions, but the impact of them has lingered ever since in the minds of the Curtin family.

In a victim impact statement read out in Mansfield Magistrates Court, Mr Curtin said he suffered from “flashbacks” that made it difficult to focus in the wake of the incident.

“Due to my ongoing anxiety and sleep issues, I’ve taken time off work resulting in lost wages and as a result has affected my overall wellbeing making it hard to plan for the future,” the statement read.

“I have trouble sleeping and often wake up in the middle of the night haunted by what happened, I find it hard to concentrate day to day … this experience has shattered my sense of trust in others.”