On 7 August 2025 the NSW District Court entered a conviction relating to a workplace incident resulting in the death of a worker at the West Wyalong Quarry in May 2021. The worker was struck by a light vehicle driven by the defendant.
The defendant was found guilty of contravening section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 by virtue of failing to take reasonable care not to adversely affect the health and safety of a coworker pursuant to section 28 of the WHS Act.
The Court imposed a fine of $5,000 on the defendant.
The key facts surrounding the incident are set out at paragraph 2 of the full judgment.
On 3 June 2025 the defendant was found by Judge Scotting to be in breach of his section 28 duty, after 5 days of hearing following a plea of not guilty. Judge Scotting found that immediately before the incident the defendant failed to:
- Activate amber flashing lights on the vehicle or make a radio announcement as to where he was going which demonstrated a lack of attention to simple, convenient and well-known safety rules
- Keep a proper lockout for pedestrians.
Ultimately, Judge Scotting concluded that it was the defendant’s failure to keep a proper lookout for pedestrians which was the significant and substantial cause of the risk of death or serious injury to which his co-worker was exposed, and he was convicted on that basis.
In delivering his sentence on 7 August 2025 Judge Scotting ordered that Robert Tucker:
- Be convicted and fined $5,000-
- Pay a 50% moiety of the fine to the prosecutor
At the time of the offence, the maximum penalty for a Category 2 offence in the case of an individual was $176, 460.00.
An order as to costs to be paid to the Regulator, identified by Judge Scotting as likely to be significant, is to be determined.
The Quarry Operator, Regional Quarries Australia Pty Ltd, has entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of breaching section 32 (Category 2) of the Act by failing to comply with its primary duty required by section 19(1) of the Act. This charge is to be listed for hearing.
The Resources Regulator has released a technical reference guide (PDF, 4.77 MB) to help reduce instances of adverse vehicle interactions at mine sites.
