Hay Australia hit with more than $1m in fines, court costs after worker ‘seriously injured’ near Yerecoin

Hay Australia has been hit with more than $1 million in fines and court costs after a worker’s leg was fractured and partially degloved while working at its processing plant near Yerecoin in the Wheatbelt. HA Hold Co Pty Ltd, trading as Hay Australia, was fined in Northam Magistrates Court last month after pleading guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace and, by that failure, causing serious harm to a worker. The company — which also owns a plant at Brookton in WA and two plants in South Australia and Victoria — was fined $595,000 and ordered to pay $5510 in court costs. In January 2023, a leading hand was working under a labour hire arrangement at the hay processing plant at Carani, near Yerecoin in the Wheatbelt, operating a small hay press. He climbed through an unguarded area onto the press’s conveyor belt to rearrange some hay bales that had become twisted in front of a chamber in which hay bales were cut in half. He was pushed by the mechanical arm that pushes hay bales into the cutting chamber, and his leg became trapped in the chamber. His leg was fractured and he suffered a degloving injury. WorkSafe commissioner Sally North said the case was a “further warning” to employers, after it was revealed Hay Australia did not have a documented safe work procedure for addressing blockages on its hay conveyor belt. A mesh guard was fitted to the unguarded area after the incident. “It’s disappointing that we continue to see incidents involving insufficient guarding of machinery, particularly conveyor belts,” Ms North said. “This case should serve as a reminder that a thorough risk assessment should be undertaken in all areas of a workplace, and engineering controls such as guarding as well as safe work procedures put into place to reduce or eliminate any risks present. “Along with putting these controls in place, I urge employers to ensure that all workers are aware of machinery related risks and how to do their work safely.” The court was told the conveyor belt did have interlocked gates on the opposite side of where the incident occurred, and opening these gates stopped the conveyor belt. However, workers had previously accessed the conveyor belt while it was moving by reaching over the conveyor belt and pushing the twisted hay bales. Workers reportedly did this because it was “faster and more convenient” than walking around to the interlocked gates. The incident occurred a year after an external safety consultant engaged by Hay Australia warned about the risk posed by the unguarded area of the conveyor belt, but the company did not install guarding there at that time. Ms North said it was disappointing Hay Australia had been “made aware” of the missing conveyor belt guards but had not taken action to “remedy the problem”. “Guarding needs to be designed to reduce not only the risks during standard operation of the machinery but also risks that may arise when a worker makes an error,” she said. She pointed to a code of practice called “safeguarding of machinery and plant” available on WorkSafe’s website, which outlined the hazards associated with machinery — including unguarded conveyors — and how to reduce the risks. Hay Australia is owned by Brisbane business AgTrade Group, which bought the Victoria and South Australia sites from SP Hay for an undisclosed amount in 2022 as it pushed on with plans to become one of Australia’s biggest hay exporters. Hay Australia was contacted for comment.