Incident

On 27 May 2023, a 9-axle truck and trailer unit fully loaded with logs was negotiating a corner on a private road within a wood lot harvest operation. As the truck rounded the corner, it left the road and rolled down a bank, causing the driver of the truck to sustain fatal injuries.

Alleged contravention

Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU while the workers were at work in the business or undertaking, namely driving a loaded 9-axle truck and trailer unit, did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed workers to a risk of death or serious injury.

Summary highlights of the enforceable undertaking

• Financial amends to the widow.
• Sponsorship of a University of Canterbury project to develop software which allows users to compare data collected from forestry roads against industry standards.
• Promotion and sharing of the software and learnings through the Forest Industry Safety Council and the wider forestry sector.
• Donation to Discover Forestry(external link) to support education, Wāhine in Forestry development, and sustainability programmes.

Reasons for accepting the undertaking

The enforceable undertaking meets the requirements of WorkSafe’s Enforceable Undertakings Operational Policy (September 2019), considering:

• The activities in the enforceable undertaking and how they promote progressively higher standards of work health and safety.
• The nature of the alleged contravention and how serious it was.
• Information received from any interested party in relation to the contravention.
• Mitigation and remedial action, already taken or planned, regarding both the contravention and any person affected by the contravention (including victims).
• The business's past performance and compliance history with health and safety legislation.
• Any likely outcome if the matter were dealt with by legal proceedings.
  • A charge was filed in relation to this incident on the basis that there was both evidential sufficiency and a public interest in initiating prosecution.
  • The undertaking accounts for the benefits that accrue to F360 by a prosecution not proceeding.
• Any other matter which WorkSafe thinks is relevant.
  • The undertaking delivers benefits beyond compliance.
  • The undertaking supports WorkSafe’s strategic objectives.
  • The undertaking contains acceptable terms.

Date accepted

17 September 2025

Further information

View the Forest360 Limited enforceable undertaking: