Court Summary - at a glance

Date of offence:
16 February 2023
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Decision:
Convicted
 
Final decision date:
 
Fine imposed:
Starting point for Tranzit $70,000. Following discounts of 70% the final fine imposed at $21,000.

Safety lessons learned:

The defendant failed to:

  1. Being a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of other persons was not put at risk from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking, namely providing a school bus, failed to comply with that duty.

Particulars:

  1. It was reasonably practicable for the defendant to have carried out an adequate risk assessment of the modification to the internal heater line and ensured the risk of the temporary join was adequately managed.

Defendant name:
Tranzit Group Limited
 
Industry:
Postal, transport and warehousing
 
Date of offence:
16 February 2023
 
Facts in brief:
A heater failed on a bus, so was removed for repairs. The hoses were then given a temporary join and left inside the bus. The temporary join failed while students were on the bus on the way home from school, resulting in hot engine water/coolant being released and burning three students. All three students suffered superficial but painful burns.
 
Offence section:
S 36(2), s 49(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
 
Date(s) charged:
28 March 2024

Court:
Tauranga - District Court
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Final decision date:
 
Decision:
Convicted
 
Fine imposed:
Starting point for Tranzit $70,000. Following discounts of 70% the final fine imposed at $21,000.
 
Maximum fine available:
$500,000
 
Reparation:
Emotional harm – $10,000 awarded to two victims and $7,500 for victim who did not provide victim impact statement.
Consequential loss – N/A
Costs – $2,672.37 awarded legal costs.
 
Related Documents:
PDF
Sentencing notes – WorkSafe New Zealand v Tranzit Group Limited (PDF 3.1 MB)
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