Elizabeth Woods, Deputy Chief Magistrate of Western Australia, imposed the largest work health and safety fine in the State’s history when she fined Big Bell Gold Operations Pty Ltd $945,000—five per cent higher than the previous record of $900,000—after a truck fatally struck a worker at its Big Bell underground gold mine.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Westgold Resources Limited, Big Bell Gold Operations pleaded guilty to an offence under the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 of failing to provide and maintain a working environment in which an employee of a contractor wasn’t exposed to hazards. This offence doesn’t indicate that the breach caused the fatal incident at the mine near Cue in the State’s Mid West. However, it highlights a failure in terms of safe systems of work.
