SAFETY BLITZ HITS NEW HEIGHTS
Blitz finds breaches at 12 build sites
TEN Gold Coast high-rise developments and two other building sites have been reprimanded for breaching safety and licensing laws in a multiagency blitz on the industry in the wake of a raft of serious incidents in the city.
The unnamed sites at Palm Beach, Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, Robina and Southport were slapped with actions ranging from warnings to show-cause and infringement notices for work that was deemed unsafe, illegal, unlicensed, and/or non-compliant.
All 12 sites raided were found to have problems. The blitz was part of a new State and Federal Government push to ensure construction work within the high-growth corridor of the Gold Coast is compliant and safe after a series of serious injuries and near-misses.
TEN Gold Coast highrise developments and two other building sites have been reprimanded for breaching safety and licensing laws in a multiagency blitz on the industry in the wake of a raft of serious incidents in the city.
The unnamed sites at Palm Beach, Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, Robina and Southport were slapped with actions ranging from warnings to show-cause and infringement notices for work deemed unsafe, illegal, unlicensed and/or non-compliant.
Officers from the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and Gold Coast City Council found problems at all 12 sites they raided in March, when they checked the licences of more than 300 workers.
QBCC officers detected one allegedly unlicensed worker, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of $32,637 for an individual or $163,186 for a company.
Plumbing inspectors conducted 35 checks of licensees and apprentices, leading to two warnings for breaches of the Plumbing and Drainage Act.
WHSQ officers issued nine notices, while council inspectors determined temporary buildings at all 10 highrise sites needed rectification work.
Council inspectors have planned follow-up checks and issued 10 infringement notices and 10 show-cause notices.
The blitz was part of a state and federal push to ensure construction work within the high-growth corridor of the Gold Coast is compliant and safe after a series of serious injuries and near-misses.
Builder Multiplex was given strict licence conditions in December after three men were injured at the $1.4 billion Jewel development site.
Another worker was injured at the same site seven months earlier, barely escaping with his life after being crushed in an elevator shaft.
The men had been working in the lower carpark area of the Surfers Paradise development when a three-and-half-tonne metal cable conduit fell around 3m, crushing at least one man.
A crane cable snapped at a Chevron Island site on March 19, falling several storeys to the ground, while on March 7 a 500kg yellow hook fell 10 storeys on Bondi Ave, Mermaid Beach, narrowly missing an elderly woman walking by.
Other agencies set to take part in the ongoing operations include the Electrical Safety Office, WorkCover Queensland, Q Leave, the Office of Fair Trading Queensland, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, and the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy.
QBCC Commissioner Brett Bassett said it was great to see regulatory agencies working together and the compliance model could be rolled out beyond the Coast if required.