The Victorian County Court has found St Basil’s Homes for the Aged guilty of breaching workplace health and safety laws following the 2020 outbreak that swept through the facility in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Judge Trevor Wraight imposed a fine of $150,000, ruling that the organisation had failed to properly train and supervise staff in critical infection control procedures during the early stages of the pandemic.
The charge was brought by WorkSafe Victoria, which alleged the provider did not provide adequate information and training to staff on how to safely use personal protective equipment such as masks and gowns.
At the time of the outbreak, the home had more than 90 residents and over 100 staff members. Within weeks of the virus first entering the facility in July 2020, 45 residents had died from COVID-related complications. Many employees also contracted the virus during the same period.
The court heard that while the organisation had arranged several training sessions with external medical professionals earlier in the year, five staff members never received the instruction. Judge Wraight said that gap created weaknesses in the system designed to prevent transmission of the virus.
He noted that having procedures in place was not enough if they were not properly implemented or understood by all staff.
“Systems must be effectively communicated, monitored and enforced,” the judge said when handing down the sentence.
The conviction relates to failures to provide a safe workplace, rather than directly to the deaths of residents.
WorkSafe initially laid nine charges under occupational health and safety legislation, but eight were withdrawn after the provider pleaded guilty to one count relating to inadequate training between March and July 2020.
Despite the court outcome, many families of residents who died during the outbreak say the fine does little to reflect the scale of the tragedy.
Relatives of victims expressed anger outside court, arguing the penalty was insufficient given the number of lives lost. Some families say they are still grappling with the trauma of the outbreak and want greater accountability from those responsible for the facility at the time.
During the height of the crisis in mid-2020, reports from health workers and emergency responders described chaotic conditions inside the home as staff shortages worsened and infection spread rapidly through the building.
Investigations heard that replacement workers were brought in during the outbreak after much of the regular workforce fell ill or was required to isolate.
In sentencing, Judge Wraight acknowledged that the legal process had taken more than five years and attracted intense public scrutiny. He also noted the organisation had since updated its procedures and infection control systems in response to the pandemic.
The maximum penalty available to the court was close to $1.5 million.
Separate legal processes are still underway. A coronial inquest examining the deaths of residents during the outbreak remains ongoing, and civil action has also been initiated by some families who allege the home failed in its duty of care.
For many relatives, the court decision marks another chapter in a tragedy that continues to raise difficult questions about how Australia’s aged care system responded during the worst months of the pandemic.
