Cleanaway charged over fatality (updated) (Media release)

02 August 2017

Update on charges against waste management company Cleanaway over a fatal incident involving a recycling truck in Melbourne.

UPDATE: Cleanaway pleaded not guilty to the three charges and the matter went to trial in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in November and December 2018. Magistrate Kieran Gilligan dismissed all charges on 19 December 2018.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has filed charges in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court alleging Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd failed in its duties under the federal Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

The three charges each carry a maximum penalty of $1.5 million and follow an investigation by federal work health and safety regulator Comcare.

The incident occurred on 5 August 2015 in the grounds of Ford’s Broadmeadows Assembly Plant at Campbellfield, where Cleanaway operated a waste sorting facility.

A recycling truck contracted to Cleanaway was manoeuvring to collect a skip at the site when it struck and killed a 56-year-old woman employed by a labour hire firm.

It will be alleged that Cleanaway failed to implement effective traffic management procedures at the site, conduct a risk assessment and use control measures including barriers and exclusion zones.

The matter is listed for mention in the Magistrates’ Court on 24 August.

Media Contact:
media@comcare.gov.au
0478 305 675