Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure faces fine, no action on bosses ’

Dreamworld did not properly maintain its rides and equipment and failed to adequately train or supervise staff, resulting in the deaths of four people in 2016, prosecutors will allege.

The entrance to Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast. Picture: AAP

Dreamworld did not properly maintain its rides and equipment and failed to adequately train or supervise staff, resulting in the deaths of four people in 2016, prosecutors will allege.

The amusement park’s parent company, Ardent Leisure, is facing a $4.5m fine after being charged on Tuesday with breaching workplace health and safety laws in the lead-up to the tragic ride malfunction that killed Roozi Araghi, Luke Dorsett, Kate Goodchild and Cindy Low.

Queensland Work Health and Safety Prosecutor Aaron Guilfoyle lodged three charges in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning after an investigation into the tragedy on the popular Thunder River Rapids ride at the Gold Coast theme park. Each of the category two charges carries a maximum penalty of $1.5m but no individuals will be charged.

The four victims died after their raft collided with another raft stuck on a mechanical conveyor, causing them to fall onto the moving conveyor and suffer horrific injuries.

Araghi’s father, Behrooz Araghi, told The Australian he was “grateful” for the prosecutor’s work and was eager for the dark saga to be over. He had been informed recently of the pending charges and that the company intended to plead guilty. Ardent did not confirm this.

“I’m reasonably happy with what they’ve done,” Mr Araghi said. “I just hope it would not happen again.

“Nothing is going to bring him back and we just want to cope. I think what he (the prosecutor) has done will bring it to an end and stop it dragging on for years.”

Mr Araghi said the regular legal landmarks that thrust the tragedy back into the spotlight were “aggravating”.

“Every time, I have to get my wife and console her for an hour or so,” he said. “I’m sure it’s the same for every other family.”

In a statement, the Office of the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor said the company had been charged for “failing to comply with its health and safety duty under the Act and exposing individuals to a risk of serious injury or death”.

He alleged Ardent failed in its duty to maintain “safe plant and structures” and “systems of work”. It also allegedly did not provide “information, training, instruction or supervision that was necessary to protect all persons from risks to their health and safety arising from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking”.

The charges will be mentioned in Southport Magistrates Court on July 29.

The prosecutor’s investigation followed coroner James McDougall’s scathing report in February criticising Ardent’s culture and practices. He described a litany of safety breaches, including the failure to do a proper risk assessment of the ride in the 30 years since it began operating.

In his findings, Mr McDougall singled out the Ardent board for a “careless” attitude to safety.

Former chief executive Deborah Thomas did not return calls from The Australian.

Ardent Leisure released a statement to the ASX on Tuesday morning informing investors of the charges. The company said it had made significant changes to safety practices since the tragedy.

The tragedy sparked several legal claims from the victims’ families and traumatised Dreamworld employees, many of which have been settled by Ardent.

A Federal Court class action was lodged last month by law firm Piper Alderman on behalf of disgruntled shareholders hit by a sharp plunge in the wake of the incident. Ardent said it will defend the class action.

Shine Lawyers solicitor Melissa O’Neill said the firm’s clients were pleased Ardent would be “punished for the litany of failures that contributed to this tragedy”.