Essendon charged for failing to provide safe workplace during 2012 supplements saga

ESSENDON will plead guilty to providing its players with an unsafe workplace in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later this month.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 02: Brendon Goddard of the Bombers looks dejected after losing the round 18 AFL match between the Essendon Bombers and the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on August 2, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

ESSENDON will plead guilty to providing its players with an unsafe workplace in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later this month.

WorkSafe Victoria has charged the Bombers with two breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a lengthy investigation into the club’s “pharmacologically experimental” supplements program.

Essendon faces a maximum fine of $305,350 but no directors or club staff will be punished.

The matter is listed for mention in the magistrates’ court on November 30.

The AFL, which was also under investigation by the workplace authority, escaped penalty.

WorkSafe said the charges against Essendon were for “failing to provide and maintain for employees a working environment that is, so far and reasonably practical, safe and without risks to health” and for “failing to provide and maintain a system of work that is, so far and reasonably practical, safe and without risks to health”.

A fine of $305,350 would tip the total cost of Essendon’s fight in the long-running anti-doping saga beyond $5.9 million.

More serious workplace breaches, such as those that result in the death of a worker, are heard before the Victorian County Court.

The Essendon case was not deemed at that level.

A Bombers spokesman said on Monday: “Essendon Football Club has been assisting WorkSafe with its investigation and agreed to the charges laid today.

“The charges reflect the governance failings of the club at that time, which the club has accepted responsibility.”

Documents relating to Essendon’s 2012 supplements regimen were seized by WorkSafe investigators last April.

Player consent forms, emails and other key papers were obtained.

WorkSafe was also in possession of documents from the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation into Essendon.

At least one of the 34 past and present Bombers players accused of doping in 2012 spoke with a WorkSafe investigator as part of its probe.

In relation to its investigation into the AFL, WorkSafe said: “Following a review of the available and admissible evidence, it could not be established to the requisite standard that the AFL breached the OHS Act”.