Sole trader sentenced to corrections order after fatal fall

The sole trader, 29, trading as Big Basa Constructions, was sentenced without conviction in the Melbourne County Court today after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to ensure a workplace under his management and control was safe and without risks to health.

He was ordered to complete 100 hours of community work and pay a $10,000 fine.

The court heard that the carpenter engaged a 23-year-old worker to assist him at the site, where he had been contracted to build frames and erect roof trusses for multi-storey townhouses. 

In September 2022, the young worker was carrying lengths of steel along the first floor when he fell through the open stair void to the concrete floor three metres below.

He suffered serious head injuries and later died in hospital.

A WorkSafe investigation found there were no guardrails installed around stair voids in the units under construction and that the ladder used at the time of the incident did not extend past the first floor level.

It was reasonably practicable for the carpenter to eliminate or reduce the risk of death or serious injury due to a fall by installing perimeter guard rails around stair voids, and by using a ladder that extended at least 90 centimetres past the first floor and was securely fastened at the top and bottom.

WorkSafe's Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said it was unacceptable that workers continued to die or suffer life-changing injuries as a result of falls from heights.

“It’s both shocking and heartbreaking to see a young worker lose his life after a workplace fall that could and should have been prevented,” Mr Jenkin said.

“No one ever thinks an incident like this will happen at their workplace and so, far too often, duty holders ignore well-known and relatively simple measures to control hazards – leading to tragedy.”

Pearl Construction Group Pty Ltd, the principal contractor on the site, has also been charged in relation to the incident and will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 8 December 2025.

To prevent falls from height employers should implement the highest possible measures from the five levels in the hierarchy of controls:

• Level 1 Eliminate the risk by, where practicable, doing all or some of the work on the ground or from a solid construction.
• Level 2 Use a passive fall prevention device such as scaffolds, perimeter screens, guardrails, safety mesh or elevating work platforms.
• Level 3 Use a positioning system, such as a travel-restraint system, to ensure employees work within a safe area.
• Level 4 Use a fall arrest system, such as a harness, catch platform or safety nets, to limit the risk of injuries in the event of a fall.
• Level 5 Use a fixed or portable ladder, or implement administrative controls.