Comcare charges government agency following employee attack

A government agency has been accused of violating federal work health and safety regulations following a violent assault on a worker at a Melbourne office.

Subsequent to a Comcare investigation, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has lodged a singular charge claiming the agency did not fulfill its obligations as stipulated by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act).

On 23 May 2023, during the incident, a worker sustained severe injuries after being stabbed by a person.

An investigation by Comcare revealed the agency did not meet its main health and safety obligation to ‘ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers (section 19(1) of the WHS Act).’

The case is scheduled for mention at the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court on 1 July 2025

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