Alice Springs fuel company fined $140,000 for employee’s death

Alice Springs fuel company Indervon Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined $140,000 following the death of one of its employees who was only in his fourth week of employment.

Liberty Indervon petrol station Stuart Highway Alice Springs. January 31 2018.

Alice Springs fuel company Indervon Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined $140,000 following the death of one of its employees who was only in his fourth week of employment.

Indervon Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Alice Springs Local Court on Wednesday for failing to provide adequate training, instruction and supervision, which led to the death of a 51-year-old worker.

In July 2017, Mustapha Dahmani was in his fourth week of employment as a fuel truck driver with Indervon when he delivered fuel unsupervised along the Maryvale Road.

An investigation found Mr Dahmani failed to negotiate a curve in an unsealed portion of the road approximately 74 km south of Alice Springs, causing the truck to tip and rollover.

Mr Dahmani was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the incident.

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Acting Executive Director of NT WorkSafe, Melissa Garde says it is important that employers appropriately train and instruct workers and supervise workers to ensure they are working safely.

“NT WorkSafe’s investigation raised questions around the worker’s ability to safely operate the fuel truck,” she said.

“The unsealed outback roads in Central Australia present a range of hazards to drivers who are unfamiliar with the conditions,” Ms Garde said.

“A large proportion of worker fatalities in the Northern Territory involve a vehicle collision, with a majority of those crashes occurring outside of urban areas.”

“Employers need to go beyond checking the worker holds the correct licence to operate the work vehicle,” said Ms Garde.

“Employers also need to make sure they provide the worker with appropriate training and instruction to safely operate the vehicle in the conditions they may encounter.”

Indervon was convicted for breaching of Section 32 of the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 and also required to pay a victims levy of $1,000.