A small-business home builder and its director have been fined a total of $880,000 for a structural collapse that resulted in the death of a 21-year-old apprentice.

The business was fined $700,000 and the company director was personally fined $180,000 in the county court for failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace.

The 21-year-old apprentice was killed when the second-floor trusses on which he was working collapsed under the weight of flooring sheets – shortly after the 1.76-tonne load of sheets was placed there by a crane – and caused the first floor and trusses below to collapse.

The apprentice fell to the ground and was trapped by debris. He died at the scene.

The company director also fell to the ground and sustained a number of serious injuries.

The court heard that at the time of the August 2013 fatality that the builder had been engaged to carry out carpentry work at the apartment complex, and installed the first-floor trusses and flooring after a block wall was built to just above the level of the first floor.

The block wall was then completed up to the second level, and the builder and his apprentice returned to the site to install the second-floor trusses before the incident occurred.

The decision by WorkSafe to charge both the business and its director effectively means that the courts have penalised the same person twice as there was really no one else involved in the running of the business.

The fine is at least double the highest penalty handed out to a small business builder in recent memory, with one having been fined $300,000 in 2016 for a wall collapse in which a carpenter was killed.

There is definitely a move towards higher OHS penalties from the courts in the last twelve months.

Coincidentally, the prosecution coincides with WorkSafe’s most recent strategic focus campaign which focuses on the prevention of structural collapse.

Master Builders urges members to ensure that floor areas are not overloaded and that floor structures have been completed or supported. They are also urged to ensure that workers (including delivery drivers and crane operators) are made aware of any limitations, including loading sequence or positioning requirements.