The Department of Defence has become the first Commonwealth employer to be convicted and fined under federal work health and safety laws for failing to manage psychosocial risks following the death of a worker.
On 28 July 2020, the 34-year-old worker took his own life while on duty at RAAF Base Williamtown near Newcastle, NSW.
The Department of Defence pleaded guilty to a single charge under section 33 of the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act (WHS Act), acknowledging that it failed to take reasonably practicable steps to eliminate or minimise health and safety risks to a Royal Australian Air Force technician.
In the NSW Local Court, Magistrate Brett Thomas imposed a fine of $188,000, the court also issuing an adverse publicity order under section 236 of the WHS Act, requiring Defence to publicise details of the offence, its consequences, and the penalty imposed.
The court found that Defence breached its primary duty of care under section 19(1) of the WHS Act by failing to provide adequate training to supervisors responsible for implementing a draft Work Plan procedure used as a performance management tool. During this process, the worker showed increasing signs of psychological distress and declining health.
Available risk control measures included training supervisors to recognise Work Plans as potential psychosocial hazards, identify risks associated with performance management, and take appropriate steps to eliminate or minimise those risks. Such measures included referring workers for medical assessment or suspending performance management where necessary.
Comcare CEO Colin Radford stated that the worker was placed on four separate Work Plans over a six-month period, yet supervisors failed to provide support, place the worker on leave, or otherwise alleviate the stress he was experiencing.
“The investigation found Defence knew the worker was not coping and that he was also experiencing personal issues. The serious and foreseeable risks required a proactive approach to work health and safety that the department failed to deliver,” he said.
The maximum penalty available for this Category 3 offence under the WHS Act was $500,000. The prosecution was conducted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
