Alice in the Territory Resort owner fined for serious safety breaches

A combined penalty of $25,000 was handed down yesterday to a director and two New South Wales based companies involved in operating the now closed Alice in the Territory Resort.

The penalty was over a serious electrical shock incident that occurred in 2019. 

In February 2019, a worker received a serious electrical shock after accessing the resort’s mechanical services switchboard which was over 30 years old and had exposed live parts.

The switchboard was extremely hazardous and despite this, the workers were not trained or given and information on how to safely reset the switchboard. 

A guilty plea was put forward by Springs OpCo Pty Ltd, which operated the Alice in the Territory Resort. 

The company plead guilty to one charge under Section 32 of the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011(the Act), for failing to ensure the health and safety of their worker (as per Section 19(1)(a)). 

Springs OpCo Pty Ltd was fined $15,000.

Further to this, company director Megan Nott, pleaded guilty to one charge under Section 32 of the Act for failing to exercise due diligence (as per Section 27) in ensuring Springs OpCo Pty Ltd complied with its health and safety duties.

She was fined $5,000.

A final guilty plea came from owner of the property N T Estate Pty Ltd.

N T Estate Pty Ltd was fined $5,000 under Section 32 of the Act for failing to ensure the mechanical services switchboard was without risks to the health and safety of any person (as per Section 27(2)). 

The Northern Territory’s Work Health and Authority, and Electrical Safety Regulator Bill Esteves stated the extreme danger to an untrained person of old electrical infrastructure featuring exposed live parts which are unmarked and unidentifiable. 

“NT WorkSafe urge businesses operating in older buildings to engage a licensed electrician to conduct a risk assessment and prepare an electrical safety report on their aged infrastructure, and implement an appropriate, replacement, maintenance and testing schedule.”

On top of the fines, Nott was also required to pay a victim’s levy of $150, while both companies paid a victim’s levy of $1000 each.

NT WorkSafe was awarded $9000 in costs.

Irit Jackson, 14^th October 2021