The safety prosecutionIn 2012, an employee of a Queensland sugar mill was killed when he was struck from behind by a moving cane bin. The cane bins were on a track, and an exclusion zone around the track was marked on the floor with a yellow line. Shortly before being struck,the employee inexplicably stepped over the yellow line and into the exclusion zone.The employer was prosecuted in the Magistrates Court under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), where the prosecution was dismissed by a magistrate.Workplace Health and Safety Queensland then appealed to the Queensland District Court. The Court found that the employer had not breached its obligation to ensure, as far as practicable, the safety of the worker (and, accordingly, dismissed the appeal).The employer submitted that the employee's conduct "was irrational and completely contrary to clear, explicit and express instructions" and "could not have been in the reasonable contemplation" of the employer.
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