Bundaberg Sugar Limited has been fined $250,000 for breaching its health and safety duties following the death of a worker in May 2024.
Lachlan Francis, 32, died after becoming trapped in a fluming roller while working alone in a cane paddock in Childers, Queensland.
The incident occurred when Francis failed to return from work at the usual time, prompting his family to raise the alarm.
Company Pleads Guilty to Safety Breach
Bundaberg Sugar Limited pleaded guilty in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court to failing to comply with its health and safety duty, exposing workers to the risk of serious injury or death.
Prosecutor Sarah Lio-Willie told the court that the fluming roller lacked protective guarding, and no risk assessment or safe work method statement had been conducted.
The incident was described as “graphic and distressing.”
Emotional Court Proceedings
The court heard emotional victim impact statements from Francis’s family members, including his partner Emily Burns and parents Gregory and Judith Francis.
Magistrate Edwina Rowan read parts of Burns’s “powerful” statement, which spoke of their three children, aged nine, seven, and three.
The court was told that Francis’s family never thought he would not return home from work, and that his death had a profound effect on them.
“It was sudden, tragic, and entirely unexpected … their world changed forever,” Magistrate Rowan said.
Defence Submissions and Sentencing
Defence lawyer Richard Perry KC told the court that modifications had been made to the machinery Francis was operating when he died, including the extension of the lever that controlled the rotation speed.
However, this modification was not identified in the initial risk assessment, and Bundaberg Sugar Limited was not aware of the change.
Magistrate Rowan found that Bundaberg Sugar Limited had demonstrated remorse by conducting a review of the fluming rollers and implementing measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, including the installation of protective guarding and mandating the power source be isolated before workers could manually adjust the fluming.
No conviction was recorded, and the company was fined $250,000.
In a statement, the company said Francis had been a valued team member and that their thoughts were with his loved ones and colleagues.