Arabic version: شركة تصنيع في أديلايد تواجه أول اتهامات بالقتل الصناعي في جنوب أستراليا

According to ABC News, Adelaide manufacturer Nylastex Tooling Pty Ltd, Nylastex Holdings Pty Ltd and two directors have been charged in South Australia’s first industrial manslaughter case after the 2024 death of worker Lachlan Carslake.

Court documents state that Mr Carslake, 28, died after he was allegedly struck in the head by a metal object while operating a milling machine at Nylastex’s Edwardstown plant on July 24, 2024. The Director of Public Prosecutions filed the charges in Adelaide Magistrates Court last week following what SafeWork SA described as an extensive investigation.

The documents allege the companies used milling machines fitted with interlock guarding switches intended to prevent operation at a hazardous speed when a guard was open. The switch on the machine operated by Mr Carslake was allegedly disabled, while a moveable guard was open when a metal object was ejected.

SafeWork SA said an external technician engaged by Nylastex Tooling had allegedly raised safety concerns about the guarding switch two days before Mr Carslake’s death. The companies and directors are alleged to have breached health and safety duties through gross negligence or reckless conduct that caused the worker’s death, or created a risk of death or serious injury.

A company project manager has also been charged under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 over alleged gross negligence or reckless conduct. The defendants are expected to appear in court in August. Industrial manslaughter became a criminal offence in South Australia on July 1, 2024, carrying a maximum 20-year prison term and a maximum corporate fine of $18 million.