Arabic version: تغريم بن يول ريسينغ بسبب إخفاق في التأمين

According to ABC News, Ben Yole Racing Pty Ltd has been fined $8,000 after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an insurance policy with a licensed insurer between July 2022 and December 12, 2023.

The prominent Tasmanian harness racing operator was sentenced in the Launceston Magistrates Court. Magistrate Sharon Cure also ordered the company to pay $62,168 to the WorkCover Tasmania Board, plus $82 in costs. The company was granted a 28-day stay to make arrangements.

The insurance issue emerged after a January 2023 crash near Sidmouth in which four horses were killed. Five Yole workers, aged between 14 and 20 at the time, were in a vehicle towing a horse float. A court heard the driver had worked for more than 18 hours before the crash.

Injured employees subsequently discovered they did not have workers’ compensation insurance. Ben Yole Racing had more than 30 employees at the time. The prosecution said a fine could have been as high as $90,500, while defence barrister Damian Sheales argued for a fine between $1,500 and $2,500.

Magistrate Cure said she accepted the company took steps after becoming aware its insurance was inadequate and did not consider the breach an effort to gain an advantage over competitors. Ben Yole Racing also faces separate workplace health and safety-related charges, to which it has previously pleaded not guilty; those matters are due back in court later this year.