Mining maintenance firm charged following worker's death in WA

A mining maintenance firm has been charged following a worker's death in WA. WorkSafe has recently filed charges against the goldfields employer over a fatal incident at South Boulder two years ago, alleging the company failed to ensure a secure workplace and that an employee lost his life as a result.

Case summary at a glance

• Who: A goldfields mining maintenance company engaged to deliver heavy vehicle repair services.
• What: December 2023 fatality involving a haul truck raised on a jack.
• Alleged breach: Failing to provide and maintain a workplace free of foreseeable harm.
• Next step: Mention listed at the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court next month.
• Why it matters: Axle removal, chocking and jacking rank among the deadliest tasks across mining, construction and transport maintenance services.

What WorkSafe alleges happened at South Boulder

“In December 2023, a worker who was employed as a heavy diesel mechanic was instructed to remove the front axle from a truck, requiring the truck to be jacked off the ground,” WorkSafe said.

The watchdog will “allege that a deflated front tyre caused the truck to lean at an angle, and when the worker went under it, the jack supporting the truck failed and it fell, fatally injuring the worker.”

One soft tyre changed the load path running through the lifting point. That detail deserves attention in every workshop, whether crews sit inside fixed plant or travel between client sites as mobile field services.

Charges, court date and regulatory context

Western Australia's regulator laid the charge under work health and safety duties owed by an employer to each person on site.

Magistrates will hear the matter in Kalgoorlie next month. Courts weigh what a reasonable employer could have foreseen, which controls existed on paper, and whether supervisors verified them before anyone picked up a spanner.

Guidance published by WorkSafe WA and Safe Work Australia remains the primary reference for resources sector employers planning heavy plant repairs.

Why jacking a haul truck demands documented controls

Raising heavy mobile plant transfers tonnes of mass onto a small contact patch. Sloping ground, a deflating tyre, or a jack rated below actual axle load can turn routine repair services into a crushing hazard within seconds.

Purchasers of maintenance services in mining, civil construction and manufacturing should ask exactly how a contractor plans each lift before mobilisation begins.

Controls that belong in every lifting procedure

• Assess the machine first: Record tyre pressures, surface grade and load distribution before raising anything.
• Use rated stands: Jacks raise; purpose-built stands hold. Hydraulics alone must never support a machine while somebody enters an exclusion zone.
• Level, compacted hardstand: Firm ground prevents sinking, tilting and sudden lateral movement.
• Barricades and signage: Physical barriers keep passers-by clear of suspended bodies or wheel assemblies.
• Safe work method statements: Each step, hazard and control written down, reviewed, then signed by crews delivering the services.
• Verification: Supervisors confirm stands are correctly seated before anyone reaches beneath a frame.

Similar prosecutions elsewhere in Australia

Regulators nationally have pursued employers after preventable deaths, and industry news coverage reveals a consistent theme: gaps between written procedure and daily practice.

• Forklift operator charged over worker death — mobile plant movements inside a busy yard.
• Vic recycling facility faces charges following worker death — machinery guarding plus isolation failures.
• SafeWork prosecutes cotton company following death of farm worker — supervision of seasonal labour hire services.

Reading each case as news is useful; treating every finding as an audit prompt is far better.

Documentation that protects maintenance crews

Written systems give supervisors something tangible to verify, and give safety leaders evidence of due diligence. Our library supports contractors delivering plant services across the resources and construction sectors:

• Railway Maintenance SWMS packs for rail-side repair services teams.
• Forklift Maintenance SWMS covering lifting, isolation and access controls.
• SOPs for equipment maintenance to standardise workshop services.
• Worker Agreement Policy templates clarifying duties ahead of mobilisation.
• Worker and contractor manuals for firms whose services span multiple client sites.

Practical steps for safety professionals this week

1. List every task where somebody works beneath suspended plant, then confirm rated stands sit with each maintenance services crew.
2. Review pre-lift checks so tyre condition plus ground stability get recorded, never assumed.
3. Test supervisor knowledge in the field rather than inside a meeting room.
4. Refresh inductions for labour hire and specialist services providers working alongside direct employees.
5. Track regulator news alerts so hard lessons reach crews while attention remains high.

Frequently asked questions

Who is responsible when a contractor's employee dies at a mine?

Both the mine operator and contracting employer hold overlapping duties. WorkSafe can charge either party where controls fell short, a point reinforced throughout recent enforcement news.

Do the same obligations apply outside mining?

Yes. Construction, transport and manufacturing employers face identical duties whenever plant is raised for repair, and construction principals must verify subcontractor procedures too.

Where can teams find reliable safety news and templates?

Our blog publishes regular safety news for Australian industry, alongside ready-to-edit templates built for construction, mining and maintenance services businesses.

What comes next

The mention proceeds at Kalgoorlie next month, and further news will follow once evidence has been tested.

Whatever the outcome, one message stands for every mine operator, principal contractor and provider of on-site services: paperwork alone protects nobody, yet verified procedures genuinely do.

Browse our health and safety document range, or explore editable templates plus support services, and close procedural gaps long before a regulator arrives.

Originally published here.