Bundaberg Sugar Ltd has been fined $250,000 following the horrific death of a worker who became trapped in a rotating tractor-mounted fluming roller while working alone on a Queensland sugarcane farm in May last year.

The worker’s body wasn’t discovered until many hours after he failed to return home from work, found deceased at one of the company’s farms in Childers with fluming wrapped around his body. The machinery was still powered and rotating when discovered, having created a trench in the ground beneath the victim from the continuous rotation.

Fatal Equipment Failure

Bundaberg Magistrate Edwina Rowan heard disturbing details about the circumstances leading to the worker’s death during recent sentencing proceedings. The fluming roller, hydraulically powered by a tractor, was used to wind up lengths of fluming—flat hosing used to irrigate the company’s sugarcane farms.

The victim’s role included both deploying and removing the irrigation equipment, with the latter task requiring workers to manually attach hosing to the roller before activating the power. The court learned that properly attaching the hosing often required multiple attempts due to the absence of any gripping mechanism, forcing workers to manually handle the hosing while it was being pulled into the machine to ensure neat winding.

Company’s Safety Failures

Following an investigation by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ), Bundaberg Sugar was charged with and pleaded guilty to breaching sections 19 and 32 of the state’s Work Health and Safety Act 2011, for exposing the worker to risk of death or serious injury.

Magistrate Rowan identified the company’s category-2 breach involved critical failures to:

• Complete a risk assessment for fluming roller operations
• Draft and implement a safe work method statement for the activity
• Provide instructions on safe equipment operation
• Establish rules requiring full power isolation before attempting to attach fluming to the roller

Unsafe Modifications Discovered

The court heard that the company’s culpability was somewhat reduced by the discovery that a control lever on the roller had been extended without management’s knowledge. This dangerous modification allowed workers to stand directly in front of the roller while adjusting its speed—a practice that significantly increased the risk of entrapment.

WHSQ Safety Alert

Earlier this year, WHSQ issued a safety alert highlighting the elevated risks posed by remote and isolated work, specifically referencing this fatality. The alert warned that risks increase when employers are unfamiliar with remote working environments and their specific hazards.

“Risk management is an ongoing process,” the alert emphasized. “Circumstances can change and you need to regularly review the work environment, work processes, equipment, and any other relevant factors to identify any new hazards and risks.”

Court’s Decision

Despite the severity of the breach, Magistrate Rowan declined to record a conviction against Bundaberg Sugar. Her decision was influenced by several mitigating factors:

• No previous criminal history
• Early guilty plea
• Full cooperation with the WHSQ investigation
• Demonstrated significant remorse
• The company’s role as a primary contributor to the Bundaberg region

Industry Impact

This case serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of comprehensive risk assessment and safety procedures in agricultural operations. The tragic incident underscores how seemingly routine farm equipment can become lethal without proper safety protocols, particularly when workers operate machinery in isolation.

The $250,000 fine reflects the serious consequences companies face when they fail to meet their primary duty of care obligations under Queensland’s workplace health and safety laws. For Bundaberg Sugar, a major regional employer, the case highlights the need for rigorous safety management systems that account for all equipment operations, including seemingly routine tasks like irrigation equipment maintenance.

The worker’s death represents not just a devastating loss for his family, but a preventable tragedy that has prompted renewed focus on agricultural workplace safety across Queensland’s farming sector.