The ACT Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal brought by the prosecution against Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd, arising from criminal proceedings under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth).
Greg O’Mahoney and Daniel Habashy appeared for Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd, one of two defendants in criminal proceedings, charged with multiple counts of failing to comply with a duty to ensure the health and safety of workers.
The proceedings were commenced in 2017 in the ACT Magistrates Court. All charges against Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd were dismissed in 2019 after a four-week trial during which the prosecution called over 20 witnesses. The proceedings arose from a tragic incident in Antarctica, when a helicopter pilot fell into a crevasse, where he remained trapped for some hours and subsequently passed away from hypothermia. The Magistrate found that Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd was not well placed to assess the likelihood of crevasses being present at the site or know the various ways to minimise the risk of falling into a hidden crevasse, or the various costs, financial and otherwise, associated with implementing any, some or all of the measures that the Magistrate found to be available.
The prosecution appealed to the ACT Supreme Court against the acquittal of Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd. After a five-day hearing in 2021, the ACT Supreme Court dismissed the prosecution’s appeal.
The prosecution’s further appeal to the ACT Court of Appeal was also dismissed, after a four-day hearing in 2023. The Court concluded that the prosecution did not establish error in the Supreme Court’s conclusion that the suite of measures that the prosecution alleged should have been taken were not reasonably practicable.
In addition to appearing in the the ACT Court of Appeal, Greg and Daniel appeared in the appeal before the ACT Supreme Court and at the trial. Greg also appeared at the Inquest which pre-dated these proceedings and which is continuing. They were instructed by Ben Martin and Olga Kubyk at Norton White. Peter Neil SC, Chad Jacobi KC and Bharan Narula appeared for the prosecution.
A copy of the ACT Court of Appeal decision is at https://www.courts.act.gov.au/supreme/judgments/may-v-commonwealth
Copies of the decisions of the ACT Supreme Court and ACT Magistrates Court may be found here: https://www.courts.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1773499/May.pdf and https://www.courts.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/1454766/Helicopter-Resources-No-2.pdf
