Documents relating to serious safety incidents at North East Link Eastern Freeway construction site in 2025
Richard Smith made this Freedom of Information request to Worksafe Victoria
Dear Worksafe Victoria,
Recent media reports have listed at least three safety incidents that have occurred on the North East Link's Eastern Freeway construction site, each or in combination reportedly serious enough to cause construction worked to be paused for nearly a week.
The reporting from the Herald Sun lists two crane collapses and a truck rollover, and Seven News reports include aerial footage of a crane on it's side.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victor...
The safety of the public using the Eastern Freeway is of paramount importance while these construction works occur, and so these serious safety incidents are of major public interest.
A search of Worksafe Victoria website today did not reveal any information regarding these serious safety incidents.
REQUEST
I therefore request access to the following documents created, stored and transmitted in the Government's information system:
a) Documents outlining the details communicated to Worksafe Victoria of the three serious safety incidents that occurred on Eastern Freeway construction site between April and October 2025;
b) Documents relating to any safety or incident notification alert issued by VIDA or it’s contractors to Worksafe Victoria for each of the three incidents that occurred on Eastern Freeway construction site between April and October 2025; and
c) Documents relating to communications between the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) and WorkSafe Victoria relating to the safety notification or safety alert for each of the three incidents that occurred on Eastern Freeway construction site between April and October 2025.
In making this request through the website Righttoknow.org.au, I have satisfied all requirements for a Request for access as per section 17 of the Act, in that it is a written request that clearly identifies the information and document requested, save payment of the fee.
I request Worksafe Victoria to provide me with a way to make payment via credit card through this written channel of Righttoknow.org.au.
REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS INCLUDE COMPUTER BASED INFORMATION
This request for Government information is for information contained within the Government information system, as contemplated by section 19 of the Act.
This request therefore covers documents which include documents that an “agency could produce a written document containing the information in discrete form by—
(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information;
or (ii) the making of a transcript from a sound recording held in the agency—
the agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for access to a written document so produced and containing that information.”
This request would include information contained in electronic form such as Aconex and Sharepoint.
CLARIFICATIONS
For the avoidance of doubt, this request for Government Information does not cover the incident and related activities associated with the "sinkhole" encountered by the Tunnel Boring Machine in January/February 2025.
Also to be clear, I am not seeking names and details of people in any of the documents, so it would be appropriate to redact any references to people's names & contact details.
In making this request I note that section 16 of the Act outlines:
"16 Access to documents apart from Act
(1) Ministers and agencies shall administer this Act with a view to making the maximum amount of government information promptly and inexpensively available to the public"
If this request can be answered as informal request, please do so.
Otherwise, please proceed with this as a formal request under the Freedom of Information principles & framework, i.e. the Freedom of Information Act 1982 & regulations.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Smith
Hi Richard
Thanks for your email and FOI request.
We note that you have requested to pay via credit card. See attached for
payment information. For credit card, please follow the first option in
the PDF and pay via the portal.
Please note if this payment is not received by 11 November 2025, WorkSafe
will close this request. If you wish to obtain the requested documentation
after the request is closed, you will be required to submit a new FOI
request accompanied with the statutory application fee.
Please contact us if you have any queries.
Kind regards
WorkSafe Victoria
Freedom of Information
[1][Worksafe Victoria request email]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Worksafe Victoria,
Recent media reports have listed at least three safety incidents that have
occurred on the North East Link's Eastern Freeway construction site, each
or in combination reportedly serious enough to cause construction worked
to be paused for nearly a week.
The reporting from the Herald Sun lists two crane collapses and a truck
rollover, and Seven News reports include aerial footage of a crane on it's
side.
[2]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....
The safety of the public using the Eastern Freeway is of paramount
importance while these construction works occur, and so these serious
safety incidents are of major public interest.
A search of Worksafe Victoria website today did not reveal any information
regarding these serious safety incidents.
REQUEST
I therefore request access to the following documents created, stored and
transmitted in the Government's information system:
a) Documents outlining the details communicated to Worksafe Victoria of
the three serious safety incidents that occurred on Eastern Freeway
construction site between April and October 2025;
b) Documents relating to any safety or incident notification alert issued
by VIDA or it’s contractors to Worksafe Victoria for each of the three
incidents that occurred on Eastern Freeway construction site between April
and October 2025; and
c) Documents relating to communications between the Victorian
Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) and WorkSafe Victoria relating to
the safety notification or safety alert for each of the three incidents
that occurred on Eastern Freeway construction site between April and
October 2025.
In making this request through the website Righttoknow.org.au, I have
satisfied all requirements for a Request for access as per section 17 of
the Act, in that it is a written request that clearly identifies the
information and document requested, save payment of the fee.
I request Worksafe Victoria to provide me with a way to make payment via
credit card through this written channel of Righttoknow.org.au.
REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS INCLUDE COMPUTER BASED INFORMATION
This request for Government information is for information contained
within the Government information system, as contemplated by section 19 of
the Act.
This request therefore covers documents which include documents that an
“agency could produce a written document containing the information in
discrete form by—
(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily
available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information;
or (ii) the making of a transcript from a sound recording held in the
agency—
the agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for access
to a written document so produced and containing that information.”
This request would include information contained in electronic form such
as Aconex and Sharepoint.
CLARIFICATIONS
For the avoidance of doubt, this request for Government Information does
not cover the incident and related activities associated with the
"sinkhole" encountered by the Tunnel Boring Machine in January/February
2025.
Also to be clear, I am not seeking names and details of people in any of
the documents, so it would be appropriate to redact any references to
people's names & contact details.
In making this request I note that section 16 of the Act outlines:
"16 Access to documents apart from Act
(1) Ministers and agencies shall administer this Act with a view to making
the maximum amount of government information promptly and inexpensively
available to the public"
If this request can be answered as informal request, please do so.
Otherwise, please proceed with this as a formal request under the Freedom
of Information principles & framework, i.e. the Freedom of Information Act
1982 & regulations.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Smith
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #13865 email]
Is [4][Worksafe Victoria request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Worksafe Victoria? If so, please contact us using this form:
[5]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[6]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
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IMPORTANT -
(1) The contents of this email and its attachments may be confidential and
privileged. Any unauthorised use of the contents is expressly prohibited.
If you receive this email in error, please contact us, and then delete the
email.
(2) Before opening or using attachments, check them for viruses and
defects. The contents of this email and its attachments may become
scrambled, truncated or altered in transmission. Please notify us of any
anomalies.
(3) Our liability is limited to resupplying the email and attached files
or the cost of having them resupplied.
(4) We collect personal information to enable us to perform our functions.
For more information about the use, access and disclosure of this
information, refer to our privacy policy at our website.
(5) Please consider the environment before printing.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Worksafe Victoria request email]
2. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.h...
3. mailto:[FOI #13865 email]
4. mailto:[Worksafe Victoria request email]
5. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.r...
6. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.r...
Dear FOI (WorkSafe),
Thank you for your reply of 21st October where you have acknowledged my request for access and provided me with an avenue to arrange payment of the application fee.
Are you able to provide me with a WorkSafe reference number for my FOI request that I can use to identify my payment through the provided FOI portal?
Yours sincerely,
Richard Smith
Good morning Richard
Please use reference number 12288.
Kind regards
Patrick
Administration Officer
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Corporate Legal Services
WorkSafe Victoria
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Smith <[FOI #13865 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 21 October 2025 5:00 PM
To: FOI (WorkSafe) <[Worksafe Victoria request email]>
Subject: Re: WorkSafe FOI request - payment due by 11 November 2025
Dear FOI (WorkSafe),
Thank you for your reply of 21st October where you have acknowledged my request for access and provided me with an avenue to arrange payment of the application fee.
Are you able to provide me with a WorkSafe reference number for my FOI request that I can use to identify my payment through the provided FOI portal?
Yours sincerely,
Richard Smith
-----Original Message-----
Hi Richard
Thanks for your email and FOI request.
We note that you have requested to pay via credit card. See attached for payment information. For credit card, please follow the first option in the PDF and pay via the portal.
Please note if this payment is not received by 11 November 2025, WorkSafe will close this request. If you wish to obtain the requested documentation after the request is closed, you will be required to submit a new FOI request accompanied with the statutory application fee.
Please contact us if you have any queries.
Kind regards
WorkSafe Victoria
Freedom of Information
[1][Worksafe Victoria request email]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Worksafe Victoria,
Recent media reports have listed at least three safety incidents that have occurred on the North East Link's Eastern Freeway construction site, each or in combination reportedly serious enough to cause construction worked to be paused for nearly a week.
The reporting from the Herald Sun lists two crane collapses and a truck rollover, and Seven News reports include aerial footage of a crane on it's side.
[2]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....
The safety of the public using the Eastern Freeway is of paramount importance while these construction works occur, and so these serious safety incidents are of major public interest.
A search of Worksafe Victoria website today did not reveal any information regarding these serious safety incidents.
REQUEST
I therefore request access to the following documents created, stored and transmitted in the Government's information system:
a) Documents outlining the details communicated to Worksafe Victoria of the three serious safety incidents that occurred on Eastern Freeway construction site between April and October 2025;
b) Documents relating to any safety or incident notification alert issued by VIDA or it’s contractors to Worksafe Victoria for each of the three incidents that occurred on Eastern Freeway construction site between April and October 2025; and
c) Documents relating to communications between the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) and WorkSafe Victoria relating to the safety notification or safety alert for each of the three incidents that occurred on Eastern Freeway construction site between April and October 2025.
In making this request through the website Righttoknow.org.au, I have satisfied all requirements for a Request for access as per section 17 of the Act, in that it is a written request that clearly identifies the information and document requested, save payment of the fee.
I request Worksafe Victoria to provide me with a way to make payment via credit card through this written channel of Righttoknow.org.au.
REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS INCLUDE COMPUTER BASED INFORMATION
This request for Government information is for information contained within the Government information system, as contemplated by section 19 of the Act.
This request therefore covers documents which include documents that an “agency could produce a written document containing the information in discrete form by—
(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information;
or (ii) the making of a transcript from a sound recording held in the agency—
the agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for access to a written document so produced and containing that information.”
This request would include information contained in electronic form such as Aconex and Sharepoint.
CLARIFICATIONS
For the avoidance of doubt, this request for Government Information does not cover the incident and related activities associated with the "sinkhole" encountered by the Tunnel Boring Machine in January/February 2025.
Also to be clear, I am not seeking names and details of people in any of the documents, so it would be appropriate to redact any references to people's names & contact details.
In making this request I note that section 16 of the Act outlines:
"16 Access to documents apart from Act
(1) Ministers and agencies shall administer this Act with a view to making the maximum amount of government information promptly and inexpensively available to the public"
If this request can be answered as informal request, please do so.
Otherwise, please proceed with this as a formal request under the Freedom of Information principles & framework, i.e. the Freedom of Information Act
1982 & regulations.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Smith
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #13865 email]
Is [4][Worksafe Victoria request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Worksafe Victoria? If so, please contact us using this form:
[5]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[6]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #13865 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IMPORTANT -
(1) The contents of this email and its attachments may be confidential and privileged. Any unauthorised use of the contents is expressly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please contact us, and then delete the email.
(2) Before opening or using attachments, check them for viruses and defects. The contents of this email and its attachments may become scrambled, truncated or altered in transmission. Please notify us of any anomalies.
(3) Our liability is limited to resupplying the email and attached files or the cost of having them resupplied.
(4) We collect personal information to enable us to perform our functions. For more information about the use, access and disclosure of this information, refer to our privacy policy at our website.
(5) Please consider the environment before printing.
Dear Patrick,
Thank you for providing me with the reference number.
I have paid the application fee via credit card.
The payment details are below:
FOI request reference number: FOI-00047616-Richard Smith
Payment receipt number: 4208378646
Customer reference number: PR-33286
I look forward to hearing from WorkSafe in regards to my access application.
Yours sincerely,
Richard
Dear Sir or Madam,
*** DO NOT PRESS REPLY TO THIS EMAIL THIS INBOX IS UNATTENDED***
PLEASE SEND YOUR RESPONSE TO [1][Worksafe Victoria request email]
Freedom of Information Request
This email is to confirm that your FOI request has been received by WorkSafe.
The statutory timeframe for FOI decisions is 30 days from the date a request
becomes valid. A team member will contact you if your request is not valid or
requires clarification.
Please note that due to current high volumes of FOI requests, some delays may be
possible. We thank you for your understanding.
Should you need to reply, please ensure any future communication is sent to
[Worksafe Victoria request email], and quote the following reference number: FOI
Request-12288
Kind regards
WorkSafe Victoria
Freedom of Information
[Worksafe Victoria request email]
*** DO NOT PRESS REPLY TO THIS EMAIL THIS INBOX IS UNATTENDED***
PLEASE SEND YOUR RESPONSE TO [2][Worksafe Victoria request email]
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IMPORTANT -
(1) The contents of this email and its attachments may be confidential and
privileged. Any unauthorised use of the contents is expressly prohibited.
If you receive this email in error, please contact us, and then delete the
email.
(2) Before opening or using attachments, check them for viruses and
defects. The contents of this email and its attachments may become
scrambled, truncated or altered in transmission. Please notify us of any
anomalies.
(3) Our liability is limited to resupplying the email and attached files
or the cost of having them resupplied.
(4) We collect personal information to enable us to perform our functions.
For more information about the use, access and disclosure of this
information, refer to our privacy policy at our website.
(5) Please consider the environment before printing.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Worksafe Victoria request email]
2. mailto:[Worksafe Victoria request email]
Confidential
Good afternoon Mr Smith,
I am writing in relation to your request for access to documents pursuant
to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) received by WorkSafe
Victoria on 21 October 2025.
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request.
Kind regards,
Megan Hood (she/her) Corporate Legal 1 Malop Street Geelong VIC
3220
Legal Counsel Legal & Governance
WorkSafe Victoria
Freedom of Information &
Privacy
[1]cid:image001.jpg@01DAD148.139D0900
Legal professional privilege: This email and any files transmitted with it
are confidential and subject to legal professional privilege and are
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are
addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that
disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the
contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Please notify the
sender immediately by email if you have received this email by mistake and
delete this email from your system.
Please note that we work flexibly at WorkSafe Victoria. I am sending this
message now because it is a good time for me, but I do not expect you to
read, respond to or action it outside of your regular hours
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IMPORTANT -
(1) The contents of this email and its attachments may be confidential and
privileged. Any unauthorised use of the contents is expressly prohibited.
If you receive this email in error, please contact us, and then delete the
email.
(2) Before opening or using attachments, check them for viruses and
defects. The contents of this email and its attachments may become
scrambled, truncated or altered in transmission. Please notify us of any
anomalies.
(3) Our liability is limited to resupplying the email and attached files
or the cost of having them resupplied.
(4) We collect personal information to enable us to perform our functions.
For more information about the use, access and disclosure of this
information, refer to our privacy policy at our website.
(5) Please consider the environment before printing.
References
Visible links