A woman has been fined for her involvement in a scheme involving dodgy licenses for people wanting to operate forklifts.
The scam was uncovered as part of an investigation by WorkSafe , with two further people yet to face court on related charges.
Maryann deFrutos, 40 of Brunswick West, was a certified assessor of people who had done forklift training. She was working at Civic Workplace Training, a Footscray West license training and testing business.
During a search of the premises on 17 November 2005 investigators found four completed certificates of assessment in Ms DeFrutos‘possession. All were dated for that day and carried incorrect information.
WorkSafe on Friday told Sunshine Magistrate McIndoe that on 8 September 2005 and 17 November 2005 seven people attended Civic Workplace Training to be assessed for their forklift licence.
The assessments by Ms deFrutos generally took less than 15 minutes and some were estimated to have taken as little as seven minutes. Tests typically take about 50 minutes.
WorkSafe’s licensing section subsequently refused to issue certificates to approximately 80 other people tested by Ms deFrutos who resigned as a certified assessor on 19 December 2005.
According to WorkSafe, the permit system in place for particular types of equipment was a vital part of ensuring workplaces was as safe as possible.
WorkSafe’s warning to other assessors, or people seeking a certificate of competency, is that failing to play by the rules has serious legal and safety consequences.
Worksafe is serious about identifying fraud and will take steps to eliminate it.
Forklifts are among the dangerous equipment in Victorian workplaces accounting for more than 500 serious injuries and several deaths each year. Since 1985, 57 deaths have been reported to WorkSafe.