A South Australian quarry operator and a labour hire company have been fined almost $500,000 over the death of a worker in 2020.
Robbie Westover, 29, suffered fatal head injuries when he entered the cavity of a rock-crushing machine and attempted to remove a metal blockage at the quarry near Truro, north-east of Adelaide, in April 2020.
SafeWork SA said no risk assessment was done and no training was provided to the worker in the removal of metal blockages.
The mining company, Kara Resources, which operates as Hallett Resources, had its fine reduced by 30 per cent to $455,000 for an early guilty plea.
The labour hire company, Taurus Recruitment, was fined $40,000 after a 40 per cent reduction for its early guilty pleas.
The Kapunda man had worked for Taurus Recruitment for five weeks before he died.
South Australian Employment Tribunal deputy president Judge Tony Rossi said Mr Westover and his family were entitled to rely upon Kara to adequately train and supervise him.
"The tragic loss of life in this case could have, and should have, been avoided by a simple but firm instruction implemented as a safe work procedure and properly supervised and maintained, which prohibited any worker from entering a Rollercone crusher to remove a blockage or to conduct any other maintenance work," he said.
SafeWork SA executive director Martyn Campbell said this was another needless loss of life undertaking a risky task that was clearly preventable.
"'No sentence can return their loved one, however this failure of the reasonable standard of care needs to be addressed and the court has done so today," he said.
