Penalties against a Canberra company were increased on appeal after they tried to block a workplace investigation. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A contracting company has been slapped with an almost $78,000 penalty after it wouldn’t let union officials inspect a Woden building site.
In late 2021, Canberra Contractors were occupying a worksite at Canberra Institute of Technology’s Woden campus.
On 11 August, two CFMEU officials arrived at the building site to investigate workplace safety concerns.
They would be prevented from investigating by two Canberra Contractors employees – Angelo Cerullo and John Graham – several times.
In his decision, Federal Court of Australia Justice Stephen McDonald said the men knew their responsibilities to let the investigations occur.
“The respondents engaged in a course of conduct aimed at preventing, deterring or hindering union officials from exercising their rights in relation to entry,” he said.
“These are important industrial rights in that they have as their object ensuring safety in the workplace. I have found [in the decision] that the conduct was deliberate in the sense that the respondents were aware of the law relating to rights of entry and intentionally acted to frustrate the rights of the union officials.”
The case was heard in the Federal Court after the CFMEU appealed a February 2024 decision on how the initial $61,800 penalties were calculated.
After the appeal, he increased the total penalties to nearly $78,000.
According to the decision, the two CFMEU officials presented a notice of entry to Mr Cerullo when they arrived at the worksite to discuss alleged concerns around its amenities.
Mr Cerullo is a director and operations manager at Canberra Contractors.
During their visit, they had to walk along a narrow walkway to inspect the amenities. They concluded there wasn’t an appropriate barrier to separate machinery from workers and pedestrians walking nearby.
But when they sought to investigate the walkway, Mr Cerullo refused and told them to leave the worksite. He then called Mr Graham, the company manager.
“Mr Graham indicated [during the phone call] that he would need to ask WorkSafe ACT for clarification and that [the union officials] would not be permitted to proceed with their inspection whilst he sought that clarification,” Justice McDonald said.
Mr Cerullo again told the officials to leave, claiming they weren’t able to inspect a second allegation as only one was listed on the notice of entry.
The two union officials would return later that morning with a new notice to investigate the alleged walkway issue. However, Mr Graham refused to let them in for several minutes before relenting.
In his decision, Justice McDonald said the recalculated penalties would need to take personal and general deterrence into account.
He found neither of the men expressed “genuine contrition” over their behaviour, and that Canberra Contractors had a history of breaching right of entry provisions in events dating to 2018 and 2019.
Ultimately, the company was fined $60,000, while Mr Cerullo was fined $11,200 and Mr Graham $6,600.
Justice McDonald made no order over the appeal’s costs.
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