Exclusion evidence belongs in the register before the lift
Before a reinforcement cage goes up next to live overhead lines, the lift plan should already show three things: where the lines are, how far plant and people must stay back, and who reviewed the contractor's SWMS against that risk.
The lift under the lines
On 5 December 2022 a 16-metre steel reinforcement cage buckled and fell onto two 11,000-volt overhead powerlines while being lifted by a rig. A worker received an electric shock.
SafeWork NSW published a $300,000 fine for the matter on 20 February 2026. The Industrial Court of NSW had convicted and sentenced on 4 February 2026. The company is in the sources.
The duty is to make sure, so far as reasonably practicable, that no person or plant comes within an unsafe distance of overhead lines.
What the court found
The judgment's summary starts with the review. The company's check of the contractor's risk assessment and Safe Work Method Statement was inadequate, and the SWMS itself was deficient and did not identify the electrocution risk.
The particulars also listed surveying or marking powerlines on site plans, maintaining markings that identified a three-metre exclusion zone, using rigid or tape barriers under or near the lines, and physical warnings while mobile plant worked in the vicinity. Gaps in high risk work licensing and supervision added to the seriousness.
There were tiger tails and red flags on the lines and a hoarding at the boundary. None of them marked the three-metre limit, and the contractor's piling SWMS did not mention the overhead lines.
The company pleaded guilty to failing its health and safety duty under the NSW Work Health and Safety Act. The sentence was a $300,000 fine. The court treated exclusion, SWMS review and supervision as known controls that had to be in place before the cage went up.
Checklist before the cage leaves the ground
Use this as a go / no-go pass the morning of the lift. Keep the answers with the plant or WHS records for that job.
- Approach-distance and exclusion rules for this voltage and this plant, written into the lift plan.
- Lines marked on the ground plan; zone marks maintained; barriers or network-operator bunting where that is the method.
- Contractor risk assessment and SWMS reviewed for overhead-line / electrocution risk, with date and reviewer.
- A named person on that site with authority to stop the lift.
- Tickets and supervision for the people on the hooks that morning (dogging, rigging, spotter, as your control set requires).
If the judgment's three-metre marking language is the shape of the control you claim, the mark has to exist on the ground and on the plan. Voltage rules and approach distances still differ by site, so check SafeWork NSW guidance and your competent person before you lock a metre figure.
Stop-work on the morning
On the morning of a lift near overhead lines, stand where the cage will travel and point at the lines. Ask: where is the marked limit, who reviewed the SWMS against those lines, who owns stop-work if the mark is wrong, and which tickets are on the people running the lift.
On the court's reading, checking that SWMS was the head contractor's job. That is the practical read for PCBUs running piling packages under live lines. Keep the trail in the plant or WHS register before the lift starts.
Limits
This draws on the SafeWork NSW media summary and the published judgment. It is not legal advice or a full reconstruction of pleadings. Network-operator requirements and approach distances vary. Check your regulator and competent person for the site you are on.
To keep exclusion rules, barrier status and SWMS reviews where the crew can find them on the morning of the lift, request a demo.
Sources
- SafeWork NSW: Company fined $300,000 after worker gets electric shock (20 February 2026)
- SafeWork NSW v Segcon Constructions Pty Ltd [2026] NSWIC 1 (Industrial Court of NSW; conviction and sentence 4 February 2026; catchwords and particulars on SWMS review, exclusion marking and barriers)
