Quarry operator charged over tip wall collapse death

MQG Sand & Soil Pty Ltd has been charged with:

• Contravening section 21 of the OHS Act when it failed to provide, as far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that was safe and without risk to health.
• Contravening section 26 of the OHS Act when it failed to ensure the means of entering and exiting the workplace were safe and without risk to health.

The charges follow a WorkSafe investigation into the incident at MQG Sand & Soil’s Nyora site in South Gippsland in March 2016.

The 30-year-old truck driver was operating a dump truck which was releasing a load of overburden into a tip at the north-east corner of the quarry site when the incident occurred.

WorkSafe will allege the company failed to implement control measures before constructing a tip for overburden by not taking a cautious approach, obtaining geotechnical engineering advice or implementing an appropriate dump design.

The case has been listed for a filing hearing in the Korumburra Magistrates’ Court on 20 September, 2018.