Top 6 Most Common WHS Breaches (and How to Avoid Them) | Life International Training Pty Ltd

Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) breaches don’t just lead to fines, the lead to injuries, fatalities that can ruin families, and reputational damage that can ruin a business. Frustratingly enough, many of the most common WHS breaches are also the most preventable. Here’s what you need to be aware of:

1.Falls from Heights

One of the most common WHS breaches is failing to protect workers from falls from height, such as when working on roofs, ladders, or scaffolding. This is actually a leading cause of workplace fatalities in Australia, accounting for 15% of all worker deaths. It’s also the most prosecuted WHS offence, with many workplaces failing to provide adequate fall protection and procedures.

What to do:

Conduct regular risk assessments for height-related tasks.
Implement the hierarchy of controls: guardrails, harnesses, or scaffolding.
Provide certified "Work Safely at Heights" training for workers.

2. Unguarded Machinery & Inadequate Machine Safety

This involves machines that have exposed moving parts, blades, gears, or pinch-points without proper guards or interlocks. Without guarding, workers can be pulled into machines or struck by moving parts, leading to amputations, crush injuries or deaths. Unsafe machinery (lack of adequate guarding) was the second most common breach prosecuted in Victoria in 2023 (25 cases).

What to do:

Regularly inspect all machinery to ensure guards and interlocks are in place.

Conduct ongoing staff training on safe machine use and lock-out/tag-out procedures.

Immediately isolate and report machinery if guards are damaged or missing.

3. Mobile Plant and Vehicle Hazards (Forklifts and Machinery)

Incidents involving mobile plant and vehicles – such as forklifts, trucks, earthmoving equipment and other moving machinery – are among the most common and deadly workplace issues. Typical breaches include poor traffic management (e.g. no separation between forklifts and pedestrians), untrained or unlicensed operators driving forklifts, and lack of safety procedures for using heavy vehicles. National data shows the stakes: vehicle-related incidents were the single largest cause of worker fatalities in 2023 (42% of deaths).

What to do:

Clearly separate pedestrian walkways and vehicle operation areas.

Provide training and licensing for forklift operators and heavy machinery drivers.

Maintain and enforce clear traffic management and speed restrictions.

4. Struck-By Objects and Crushing Injuries

Many workplace accidents involve objects or equipment that strike or crush workers. . This category includes scenarios like unsecured loads falling from height, collapsing structures, workers pinned between a vehicle and a wall, or heavy objects tipping over. Common underlying breaches are not securing materials (for instance, inadequate stacking or storage), not isolating energy (lock-out/tag-out failures causing equipment to move unexpectedly), or not using proper supports and braces for heavy items.

What to do:

Secure all loads with proper restraints and storage solutions.

Ensure workers are trained in correct stacking, bracing, and load-handling procedures.

Implement lock-out/tag-out procedures for stored energy equipment and machinery.

5. Inadequate Training, Supervision, and Safety Planning

A frequent root cause behind many WHS incidents is poor safety management – lack of training, instruction, or supervision of workers. Failing to ensure workers know how to do their job safely is itself a breach of WHS duties. This breach can manifest in many ways: employees not trained on operating procedures, not informed of hazards, or a lack of supervision to enforce safety rules. When workers are left without guidance, they may unknowingly take unsafe shortcuts or misuse equipment, leading to accidents. Recognising this, regulators often prosecute employers for failing to provide a safe work environment and adequate training.

What to do:

Regularly review and update your training and induction programs.

Conduct routine safety audits to identify training gaps.

Provide ongoing supervision, especially for high-risk tasks and new employees.

6. Failure to Report Notifiable Incidents

Australian WHS law requires that serious incidents (like fatalities, serious injuries, dangerous occurrences) be reported to the regulator immediately. A common compliance breach is when companies fail to notify the authorities of a notifiable incident or disturb the incident site prematurely. SafeWork NSW noted an alarming trend: by late 2023 they had issued 140 enforcement notices and $55,000 in fines to businesses for failing to report incidents, a significant increase over previous years.

What to do:

Clearly communicate and display incident-reporting procedures on-site.

Train supervisors and workers on the importance and process of immediate incident reporting.

Designate specific personnel responsible for reporting incidents to regulatory authorities promptly.

How Life International Training Can Help.

At Life International Training, we specialise in nationally recognised, practical WHS training designed to help businesses identify, manage, and prevent common workplace hazards.

Our experienced trainers deliver hands-on courses tailored to your industry's specific risks, including Working Safely at Heights, Confined Space Entry, Emergency Response, and much more. Beyond compliance, we help foster a culture of safety and responsibility. We’ll ensure your team is equipped, confident, and ready to act when it counts.

Get in touch today to see how we can support your workplace safety goals.

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