A 13-year-old boy’s horror head injury at a worksite has prompted the New South Wales workplace regulator to issue a “strong reminder” for the remainder of the school holidays.
The teenager was visiting a construction site with an adult just three days before Christmas when he fell from scaffolding and was seriously injured.
He was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery for a serious head injury.
The incident prompted SafeWork NSW to issue a warning on Thursday about the dangers of taking children to construction sites.
“For a child, workplaces are exciting places, but they can also be extremely dangerous,” SafeWork NSW head Trent Curtin said.
“There needs to be protections in place to look after not just kids on school holidays, but all visitors to the workplace, each and every day of the year.
“We are reminding businesses and parents they have obligations to supervise children especially around machinery, hazardous chemicals and other risks on site.”
The regulator says that while many parents take their children to work with them over the school holiday period, construction workers must be mindful of the penalties of having unlicensed people on site.
“If parents are planning for their child to take part in work on a construction site, they are reminded to ensure their child has a white card, is properly supervised and has been provided with adequate training,” SafeWork says.
“If SafeWork inspectors find untrained, unlicensed and incompetent people on site, which can include children, this could result in the issue of fines or other notices.”