WA Tree Company Fined A$170,000 Over Work Near Power Lines

MAIDA VALE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA — A Western Australian tree maintenance company has been fined A$170,000 after admitting it exposed a worker to the risk of death during pruning work near live high-voltage power lines.

WorkSafe Western Australia announced the sentence on 29 October 2026. Mr Palmer WA Pty Ltd was also ordered to pay more than A$3,500 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching its general duty of care.

The regulator stressed that the prosecution did not allege the contravention caused the worker’s death. That legal distinction is important: the conviction concerns exposure to risk, while the fatal incident itself occurred in July 2024.

What happened at Maida Vale

According to WorkSafe, a tree pruner was engaged to climb a mature eucalypt at a private residence in Maida Vale and remove growth encroaching on 22,000-volt overhead power lines. Shoots were about 2.5 to three metres from the conductors.

While partway up the tree, the worker requested an uninsulated pole saw measuring about 2.88 metres. A warning on the tool said it should not be used within 15 metres of power-line conductors. WorkSafe said the company director advised against using it but nevertheless handed it to the worker.

The director then heard a scream and saw the pole saw fall. Emergency services rescued the worker from the tree, but he could not be saved.

Failures identified by the regulator

WorkSafe said the company did not verify that the worker held the qualifications required to work as a vegetation management worker. The regulator also pointed to the absence of an effective safety observer while the hazardous task was underway.

The relevant Western Australian code of practice requires a safety observer where a person or tool could approach live power lines too closely. That observer must monitor separation distances and controls, warn of dangerous conditions, suspend work when necessary and perform no competing task.

WorkSafe said the director was writing a job safety analysis while the worker was in the tree. The case therefore illustrates the difference between preparing paperwork and actively applying controls at the point of work.

Controls for vegetation work near live lines

• Confirm line voltage, exclusion distances and the network operator’s requirements before work starts.
• Use workers with verified competencies for vegetation control near live conductors.
• Nominate a dedicated safety observer with no other task.
• Select insulated, fit-for-purpose tools and comply with manufacturer warnings.
• De-energise, isolate or otherwise control the electrical hazard where practicable.
• Stop work if the planned method, equipment or conditions change.

For broader preventive guidance, see HSE Blog’s resources on working near overhead power lines and electrical hazards and control measures.

HSE Blog analysis

The regulator’s account shows why competence verification, equipment selection and real-time supervision must operate together. A risk assessment cannot protect a worker if the task proceeds while a prohibited tool is handed over and the designated observer’s attention is elsewhere.

Source coverage remains limited: the current sentencing facts come from WorkSafe WA, supported by the regulator’s earlier prosecution notice and contemporaneous 2024 reporting of the fatal incident. Fewer than five independent sources were available. Available news photographs were not accompanied by reuse terms authorising republication by HSE Blog, so no documentary image has been copied or embedded.