The WOVA site in Phillip after the wall had collapsed, and Sky Park next door. Photo: David Murtagh.
The engineering company involved in the dramatic wall collapse at a Geocon building site in Phillip has been fined $750,000 in the ACT Magistrates Court.
On 6 August 2022, a 35-metre-long and 10-metre-deep section of a shoring wall collapsed into an excavated pit during the construction of the WOVA precinct.
On 31 October, Structural Design and Construction Company Pty Ltd was found guilty of failing to comply with a health and safety duty, which is an offence under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
It was the first time an engineering company had been prosecuted for unsafe design in the ACT.
On Monday (8 December), the company was sentenced.
Acting WHS Commissioner Peggy Cheong said the outcome reflected the standard the ACT community could expect from its WHS regulator.
“This is a first in the ACT,” she said.
“The result is the culmination of extensive work by our investigators and demonstrates the intent and capability of WorkSafe ACT.”
Magistrate Ian Temby said in his 31 October decision that the collapse could have been “potentially catastrophic”, especially with the Sky Park multi-level carpark next door.
“Given the regular attendance of workers at the site and the use of Sky Park by members of the public, multiple fatalities were a very real possibility as a result of the inadequate shoring wall design that SDCC prepared,” he said.
Mr Temby said it was fortunate no one was present at the site when the wall collapsed.
“It only took a few seconds for the shoring wall to collapse, with the site fencing and scaffolding and the edge barrier to the driveway for the neighbouring multi-storey carpark (Sky Park) also falling into the excavation,” he said.
“The debris from the collapsed part of the wall travelled around 15 metres from the side of the excavation.
“In addition, about five minutes after the shoring wall collapsed, a section of the Sky Park driveway collapsed into the excavation.”
Sky Park was open and three cars were recorded nearby in the 10 minutes preceding the incident.
One of these cars drove over the driveway less than a minute before it collapsed.
“If any of these cars (or any others) had been driving on the section of the driveway that collapsed at the time that it did, they would have fallen into the excavation,” Mr Temby said.
SDCC was a corporation that, under the business name PTC Consulting Engineers, provided engineering services. At the time of the incident, its sole director and principal engineer was Wen Lu Zhang.
SDCC had been asked to provide a geotechnical investigation report for the site by WOVA’s principal contractor, Geocon Constructions (ACT). It was subsequently engaged by subcontractors to complete the design work for the site demolition and excavation.
Prosecutors alleged SDCC failed to provide an adequate design for the shoring wall at the site between November 2019 and August 2022. It was also alleged that the failure meant there was a risk the shoring wall would collapse and, in turn, this meant there was a risk anyone in the vicinity of the collapse could be exposed to the risk of death or serious injury.
WorkSafe ACT’s investigation could not conclusively determine the cause of the wall’s collapse, but identified contributing factors that may have included rainfall at the time, rock fractures, and the inadequacy of the shoring wall system.
Mr Temby ultimately found that the shoring system’s design was non-compliant with Australian standards.
“In circumstances where the soil at the site contained fractures and defects, the likelihood of the risk eventuating at the site without adequate engineering control was obvious,” he said.
