The Court found that both corporate defendants (the employer PCBU and the site-controlling PCBU) and their sole director breached their respective duties under ss 19(1), 21(2) and 27 of the WHS Act by failing to implement a formal, documented safe system of work for manual operation of 800kg industrial sliding gates after the powered system was damaged, failing to arrange inspection by a competent person, and failing to promptly restore electronic operation. The Court held that an informal, undocumented verbal instruction system for manual gate operation was inadequate, that the director's failure to obtain the manufacturer's manual, arrange a competent risk assessment, or keep up-to-date WHS knowledge constituted failures of due diligence under s 27, and that COVID lockdowns did not excuse the failure to repair the gates in the five months between the lifting of lockdown orders in October 2021 and the incident in March 2022.
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