On-Hire Firm Fined More than the Host Organisation
Do you place workers onto other people’s sites?
A worker placed through an on-hire provider was seriously injured at a host site, losing several fingers. Both Cummaudo Trading Pty Ltd (the host) and MJ Dijamco Enterprises Pty Ltd (the on-hire provider) recently found themselves in front of a magistrate, under Victoria's Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.
The important point is this: the on-hire provider was further from the hazard but still carried serious legal exposure.
The Host Business:
Had the machine on its site, controlled the work area and had the clearest view of the physical hazard. They needed to make sure the machine was properly guarded, that dangerous moving parts could not be accessed, and that safety controls worked when access gates were opened.
Also needed to make sure workers understood the job, the danger zones and what they were not to do. That means clear instructions, practical training and active supervision, not just assuming people will work it out once they are on site.
The On-Hire Business:
Did not own the machine and were not running the site, but they still had a duty to make sure its worker was not being placed into an unsafe environment.
Their issue was the one we see all the time: they relied on the host without checking enough. They should have verified that the worker had been properly inducted and trained, and that the host had safe systems of work in place.
When the penalties came down, the on-hire provider, the business furthest from the machine, was fined more and was the only one convicted.
One incident, two duties, two very different outcomes
So how does that happen?
The Host pleaded guilty early and was fined $25,000 without conviction. The court took into account that it was a long-standing business with no prior history and that it had taken steps to put things right. Without that early plea, it would have faced a conviction and a $40,000 fine.
The Provider took a different path. It did not engage, entered no plea and was dealt with in its absence. The result was a conviction and a $40,000 fine. The court treated this as a serious departure from what is expected of an on-hire business.
One incident. A combined $65,000 in fines and more than $11,000 in costs between them. And the heavier hit landed on the business that never went near the machine.
What we want you to take from this
There are two key lessons.
First, your duty does not walk out the door with your worker. Both parties had a duty, at the same time and for the same incident. Placing someone with a host does not mean your obligations go with them and leave you behind.
Second, the provider’s failing was simple and common: they did not check enough. They did not create the unguarded machine, but they placed a worker into that environment without confirming the host had properly inducted and trained them, and without verifying safe systems of work. In on-hire, asking the host if everything is fine is not enough. You need evidence before the placement starts.
This is the gap our Host WHS evaluation is designed to close.
Learn how to do a Host WHS Evaluation (August 2026)
Case studies like this are why we run our Host WHS Evaluation Workshop, and why July’s session sold out with all 20 spots taken. We have opened another session in August for teams that missed out.
Getting this right is one of the most important things an on-hire business can do. It can be the difference between a safe placement and preventable exposure. Over three hours, live and online, we will take your team through how to:
Understand the legal and practical importance of host WHS evaluations
Identify hazards and assess risk in host work environments
Understand and apply the hierarchy of controls
Ask the right questions during a host WHS evaluation
Document findings clearly and consistently
Use host WHS evaluations to support safer placements and reduce WHS risk
Who we built it for: Consultants, Account Managers, WHS and Compliance people, and anyone involved in placing workers into host sites.
The details:
Online and live
Tuesday 11th August @ 10am - 1pm AEST
$395 + GST, 20 spots
Includes the live session, a certificate of completion, and live Q&A with Amy Towers, Director, WHS, People & Compliance
For Leaders: Understand the risk before it lands at your door
There is a second lesson in this case, and it sits with the people who own, lead and govern on-hire businesses.
One placement can expose you on multiple fronts at once. Is the worker safe? Are they engaged correctly? Are they paid correctly? Does your contract actually protect you? If any of those things are wrong, the risk can land on the business and, in some cases, on the people with personal duties.
In our experience, many leaders do not realise how much of this can sit with them personally. WHS, workplace laws, worker engagement, workers’ compensation and your Terms of Business all feed into the same risk picture. Any one of them can create real cost, liability and disruption.
That is why we have built a new 90-minute session for senior leaders. It gives you a clear, practical view of the workplace laws and commercial risks you need to know about, where on-hire businesses get caught out, who can have personal liability, where the biggest costs often come from, and how to protect the business and the duty holders behind it.
What workplace laws you need to know about, and why they matter in on-hire
Where on-hire businesses commonly get caught out
Who can have personal liability under which laws, including officers, directors and other duty holders
The commercial risks to your business, including what your Terms of Business do and do not cover
The top cost drivers we see, and how to recognise them before they escalate
The practical steps, systems and evidence that help protect the business, directors, officers and other personal duty holders
The aim is not to turn leaders into lawyers. It is to help you see the risk clearly, understand where personal accountability sits, ask better questions, and know what needs to be in place to protect the business and its duty holders before something goes wrong.
Who we built it for: Directors, Business Owners, Senior Executives and Board Members, and anyone in an on-hire business who needs to understand where the risk and liability really sit.
The details:
Online and live
Tuesday 8th September @ 10am - 12pm AEST
$395 + GST, 20 spots
Includes the live session, a certificate of completion, and live Q&A with Martin Richardson, Director – Legal, and Amy Towers, Director, WHS, People & Compliance
To secure a spot or ask a question, email us at admin@riskcollective.com.au.
Ready?
If your business is going through change, growth, or leadership shifts, now’s the time to take a deeper look, above and below the surface.