Queensland's first industrial manslaughter sentence was
handed down on 11 June 2020 by the Brisbane District Court for the
death of a worker at an auto recycling yard in 2019. Both the
corporate entity, Brisbane Auto Recycling Pty Ltd, and its two
directors were prosecuted for the fatality and pleaded guilty to
offences.
The company, charged as the relevant person conducting a
business or undertaking (PCBU), pleaded guilty to one charge of
industrial manslaughter contrary to section 34C of the Work
Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (the Act).
It was fined $3 million.
The company's directors, Asadullah Hussaini and Mohammad Ali
Jan Karimi, both pleaded guilty to one charge of reckless conduct
– category 1 in contravention of section 31 of the Act. Both
were sentenced to 10 months imprisonment. The sentence has been
wholly suspended, with an operational period of 20 months.
