Christopher’s Law
Industrial manslaughter legislation has taken a step closer to being made law in NSW after a Bill was introduced in State Parliament on Tuesday, June 4th.
It’s been a five year crusade for Patrizia and Robert Cassaniti from Castle Hill who lost their son Christopher in a horrific workplace incident just days after his 18th birthday. They hope the Bill will now pass through both the Lower and Upper House quickly without any amendments.
Christopher Cassaniti died in April 2019 after scaffolding on the building he was working next to at Macquarie Park gave way, trapping the 18-year-old under debris and rubble for 20 minutes before he died.
Synergy Scaffolding Services, which pleaded guilty to one offence under the Work Health and Safety Act, was fined $2million over the “catastrophic” collapse which also injured another worker.
The scaffolding company was engaged to design, erect and maintain the scaffolding by principal contractor GN Residential Construction, which was fined $900,000.
NSW is the last mainland state without an industrial manslaughter offence. The maximum penalties under the new legislation will be 25 years jail for an individual and $20million for a body corporate. Until the new law is passed the maximum penalty is 5 years imprisonment for an individual or a $3.8 million fine for a body corporate.
Minister for Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis said: “Every worker deserves to go home to their loved ones at the end of the day. No government should ever want to have to use these laws. Any workplace death is a tragedy and in cases where a person with a work health and safety duty has been careless or irresponsible, they must be held accountable.”
The Cassaniti family have made it their mission since Christopher died to improve workplace safety on construction sites and help families touched by tragedy.
Their Touched by Christopher Foundation provides financial assistance to families of someone who has died on a construction site by providing three months’ worth of groceries plus an additional $1,500 towards current utilities.
As part of her business, Let’s Talk About Safety, Patrizia has spoken to workers at thousands of construction sites around Australia and overseas reminding them that it’s not worth risking their lives to get a job done. Patrizia tells workers: “Every two days an Aussie is going to work and will die. It is my mission to get that number to 0. No Australian should ever go to work and die.”
To find out more about the Toolbox Talks contact Patrizia on 0414 656 621 or visit the website https://letstalkaboutsafety.com.au/
On 17th October the Touched By Christopher Foundation is hosting a Gala Dinner at Doltone House to raise further funds to provide an additional $5000 to bereaved families to help with mortgage or rental repayments. Tickets are available on the website https://touchedbychristopher.org.au/ events/event-detail/Gala-Dinner
