Australian firms fined over $800K for workplace machinery injuries

A recycling centre in New South Wales was fined $472,500 after a worker was fatally injured while clearing a blockage inside a green‑waste grinder. SafeWork NSW prosecuted the company under the Work Health and Safety Act, with Commissioner Janet Schorer warning that “risk control measures for working with moving plant and fixed machinery are well known.”

In South Australia, a horticulture business was fined $360,000 after a worker was struck by a rotating aircraft propeller, sustaining severe arm injuries. SafeWork SA highlighted that “aircraft present an extreme hazard in the workplace” and criticised reliance on verbal instructions over formal safety procedures. Both companies pleaded guilty and received reduced penalties for early pleas.