A scaffolding company has been sentenced after a nine-metre structure collapsed onto a busy Remuera road, with WorkSafe detailing a series of basic safety failures.

The scaffold, erected for townhouses on the boundary of Ellerslie Racecourse, came down across Peach Parade on a windy day in January 2024. A witness told investigators they saw it “start to curl like a wave” before it fell. Three workers were nearby, and drivers swerved to avoid being hit.

WorkSafe’s investigation found the scaffold was essentially free-standing. It was not tied to the building and had no rakers to widen the base and stabilise the structure. CCTV footage showed workers installing rakers after the collapse. The agency says Kylin Scaffolding Limited did not carry out a risk assessment for the roadside setup or for proceeding without rakers.

Kylin Scaffolding pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and has been sentenced. WorkSafe did not provide details of the penalty in its release.

“Our official guidelines are clear that rakers, ties, and risk assessments are essential, not optional,” WorkSafe northern regional manager Brad Duggan said. “Construction scaffolding design is complex, and you are gambling with lives if you cut corners.”

At the time, the company’s operations manager was qualified to design, construct, alter and dismantle scaffolding, but the company could not explain the safety shortcomings to investigators. “It is extremely disappointing that Kylin Scaffolding Limited failed to ensure that this structure was safe, and followed industry standards and guidance,” Duggan said. “Businesses must manage their health and safety risks and where they do not, WorkSafe will take action.”

WorkSafe says its scaffolding good practice guidelines set out practical steps for safe design, construction, use and maintenance, and are widely used across the construction sector.