Goulburn Valley Water plead guilty to workplace safety charge

A Victorian water company has faced court in Shepparton after an employee was hospitalised with hand injuries.

The court heard the employee was working alone at a wastewater treatment facility. Picture: Generic

An employee at a Victorian water company was injured and hospitalised following a workplace accident in 2021, a court has heard.

Goulburn Valley Water last week pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates Court, to a workplace health and safety charge after a male employee sustained finger and hand injuries in an incident on October 15, 2021.

The court heard the employee was working alone at a wastewater treatment facility, near Mooroopna, which purifies wastewater before it is used for nearby farming irrigation.

The employee was trying to clear solid waste from machinery at the facility, using a stainless steel pipe while the machine was operating. Safety guards around the machine were open.

The pipe got caught, causing the employee to damage fingers on both hands before he could emergency stop the machine.

WorkSafe Victoria prosecutors said they found evidence that this practice to clean the machine had been completed by other employees at other water treatment facilities run by GVW.

“It is important to note that there was another risk assessment done at another site which was relevant to what existed at this workplace,” the prosecutor said.

“It is likely an incident would happen and the consequences would be very serious.”

GVW’s defence counsel told the court since the incident, GVW had complied with WorkSafe Victoria’s improvement notice and installed electric interlock guards around such machinery across its network.

The matter was adjourned for sentencing on May 3.

GVW’s defence said the employee was now back at work with the company, that the severity of the incident was at the lower of the scale and requested no conviction.

In the magistrates’ court, the workplace health and safety charge carries a maximum fine of $454,350.