Last wet season on a Cairns construction site, a crew of 12 got hit with a $38k SafeWork NSW fine after a concrete truck clipped a labourer at dusk. The issue? The team had sewn their own hi-vis vests using a free online Hi Vis Vest Sewing Pattern they found, thinking they were saving coin. […]
Last month, a SafeWork NSW inspector shut down a Sydney construction site after a labourer wearing a faded Class D vest was nearly struck by a reversing loader in low light. The site manager had bought cheap imported vests to cut costs, ignoring that Class D is only rated for daytime use. He copped a […]
A Queensland mining operation recently copped a $40,000 fine when inspectors found half the crew wearing cheap imported vests that didn’t meet AS/NZS 4602.1. The vests were labelled as Class D/N but failed the minimum reflective tape width of 50mm. That’s the reality on Australian worksites: getting safety vest classes wrong can lead to hefty […]
Last month, a Sydney construction site supervisor copped a $14,000 SafeWork NSW penalty after a subcontractor’s labourer was knocked off a scaffold by a reversing forklift. The worker was wearing a faded, imported hi-vis vest with no reflective tape, even though the shift ran past dusk. The worst part? The supervisor thought he’d bought the […]
Last month, a SafeWork NSW inspector shut down a Sydney construction site after three workers wearing full-zip hi vis jackets got caught in a sudden downpour. Their zips jammed with mud, leaving them with no reflective coverage when they had to direct traffic at dusk. All three were wearing non-compliant full zips when they should […]
Hi Vis Vest Classes: What Australian Worksites Need to Know I’ve stood on enough sites to know that a faded orange vest isn’t just a bad look—it’s a compliance disaster waiting to happen. Under SafeWork NSW rules, that vest could cop you a hefty fine, and worse, it puts your team at real risk of […]
Last month, a Sydney civil works crew copped a $12,000 SafeWork NSW fine after a subbie turned up in a faded orange vest with no reflective tape. The site supervisor didn’t pick it up, the auditor did, and the whole project was shut down for 48 hours. That’s the cost of getting hi vis vest […]
Last month, a civil works crew in Western Sydney got slugged with a $4,800 penalty after a SafeWork NSW inspector flagged 12 workers wearing faded, ill-fitting hi vis vests that had been custom-printed with the company logo six months prior. The kicker? The site manager had picked the vests specifically because they looked sharper than […]
Last month, a Brisbane traffic control crew copped a $14,500 WorkSafe Queensland penalty after a random site inspection found 11 workers wearing faded orange hi-vis vests with no reflective tape. The vests were cheap imports that didn’t meet AS/NZS 1906.4 for reflective material, and the team had been using Class D (day-only) vests for evening […]
Last month on a Queensland sugarcane farm, a worker’s hi vis vest reflective strip caught on a moving conveyor belt roller. The tear pulled him into the machinery, resulting in a fractured arm and a $48,000 WorkSafe Queensland fine for the site supervisor. It’s a scenario I’ve seen play out across construction sites, paint shops […]