Contractor Craig Williams set to face 10-day industrial manslaughter Supreme Court trial over death of Alan Dinning

A Darwin contractor is set to face a 10-day Supreme Court industrial manslaughter trial, five years after the death of a Top End grandfather.

Contractor Craig Williams’s 10-day industrial manslaughter trial has been set for March, nearly five years after the death of a construction worker in one of Darwin’s wealthiest suburbs. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

A Supreme Court jury will test the Northern Territory’s industrial manslaughter laws for the first time, five years after the landmark workplace safety reforms were pushed through parliament.

Contractor Craig Williams’s 10-day industrial manslaughter trial has been set for March, nearly five years after the death of a construction worker in one of Darwin’s wealthiest suburbs.

Mr Williams, trading as Rainbow Beach Constructions, was allegedly the primary contractor at a residential construction site at Bayview when 60-year-old Alan Dinning fell to his death.

Worksafe NT and the police investigate an incident at a worksite in Bayview. Picture: Che Chorley

The Top End grandfather was allegedly moving cabinets when he fell 3.2m through a void at a two-storey construction site.

Mr Dinning was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital with head lacerations but later died from his injuries.

On Monday, Justice Stephen Southwood confirmed the trial was anticipated to run for 10 days, starting March 3.

Darwin contractor Craig Williams outside the Darwin Local Court where he stands charged with industrial manslaughter over the death of a construction worker in April 2020. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Mr Williams became the second Territorian to be charged with industrial manslaughter, and was the first to have his case sent to the Supreme Court since the laws were introduced in February 2020.

The Territory was the third place in Australia to legislate the offence, following Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.