Safety Court Cases and Enforcement Watch: Two Fresh Fines for Machinery Guarding Failures
Two Australian food and farm businesses were fined a combined $700,000 this year after workers were seriously hurt or killed by unguarded machinery, a plain reminder of what proper guarding is worth.
This post covers recent farm safety prosecutions and enforcement outcomes. We report on it factually and briefly, based on official regulator releases and public court records, with the aim of drawing out the practical compliance lesson rather than dwelling on what went wrong.
Both cases below share a similar shape: an existing piece of machinery, a known pinch point or moving part, and a guard or safe work procedure that either was not fitted or was not good enough. Neither business set out to hurt anyone, which is exactly why these cases are worth reading, since the same gap could exist quietly on any property until an inspector, or worse, finds it first.
Lethbridge poultry farm operator fined $325,000 over a conveyor death
Lemitech Pty Ltd, which operated a poultry farm at Lethbridge in Victoria, was convicted and fined $325,000 in the Geelong County Court on 5 March 2026, after pleading guilty to failing to ensure a workplace was safe and without health risks. The case related to an incident in March 2023, when a 34 year old worker was fatally injured after becoming entangled in the rotating tail pulley of a conveyor used to move chicken manure.
WorkSafe found the tail pulley had no fixed, interlocked guard with a viewing window and no interlocked nip guards over the roller, which is exactly the kind of pinch point that caused the fatality. There was also no maintenance jog function, meaning there was no safe way to run the conveyor slowly for inspection once a guard was removed. WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said employers must take every possible step to protect workers from the clear and obvious dangers associated with machinery and its moving parts. The court also noted that once the risk was identified, it was fixed quickly and at low cost, underlining how straightforward the guarding and maintenance procedures would have been to put in place beforehand.
NSW feed mill operator fined $375,000 after a preventable machinery injury
Woodward Foods Australia Pty Ltd was convicted in the Industrial Court of New South Wales and fined $375,000, plus an adverse publicity order, after pleading guilty to breaching its work health and safety duty. The case involved an incident on 21 January 2023, in which a worker was seriously injured while operating a grain mill used to prepare cattle feed.
SafeWork NSW Commissioner Janet Schorer said injuries involving fixed machinery are preventable hazards seen across every industry in the state, and stressed the importance of proper risk assessments and safe systems of work around machinery, not just at the point of purchase but throughout its working life. An adverse publicity order, which requires the company to publicly disclose the offence, its consequences and the penalty, is a further reminder that these outcomes do not stay quiet even once the fine is paid.
Both cases share a common thread. Proper machine guarding, a documented safe way to inspect or maintain equipment without full exposure to moving parts, and clear records showing those checks were actually carried out, are what regulators and courts look for once something goes wrong. Keeping that documentation up to date costs far less than a fine, and matters far more than a fine when it comes to keeping people safe.
A simple, practical step worth taking from both of these cases is a walk around your own sheds and yards specifically looking for exposed moving parts on older machinery, since guarding standards and expectations have moved on a lot over the years, and a machine that was considered fine when it was bought may not meet what is expected of it now.
References
$325,000 fine for poultry farm worker death (WorkSafe Victoria)
https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/news/2026-03/325000-fine-poultry-farm-worker-death
WorkSafe takes Lethbridge company to court after employee's death (Stock and Land)
https://www.stockandland.com.au/story/8888456/worksafe-takes-lethbridge-company-to-court-after-employees-death/
Firm fined $375k after worker hurt in grain mill (Mirage News, SafeWork NSW)
https://www.miragenews.com/firm-fined-375k-after-worker-hurt-in-grain-mill-1744124/
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