Alice Springs Indigenous-owned fuel company, Indervon Pty Ltd, has pleaded guilty and been fined $140,000 for the death of one of its drivers while on duty.

An NT WorkSafe investigation found that the company failed to provide adequate training, instruction, and supervision which led to the death of the driver.

Indervon was convicted for breaching Section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act.

In July 2017, a 51-year-old worker was in his fourth week of employment as a fuel truck driver with Indervon when he delivered fuel unsupervised along the Maryvale Road.

The worker failed to negotiate a curve on an unsealed portion of the road approximately 74 km south of Alice Springs.

Acting Executive Director of NT WorkSafe Melissa Garde said it is important that employers appropriately train, instruct, and supervise workers to ensure they are working safely.

Ms Garde said NT WorkSafe’s investigation raised questions around the worker’s ability to safely operate the fuel truck.

“The unsealed outback roads in Central Australia present a range of hazards to drivers who are unfamiliar with the conditions,” Ms Garde said.

According to NT WorkSafe, a large proportion of worker fatalities in the Northern Territory involve a vehicle collision with a majority of those crashes occurring outside of urban areas.

Ms Garde pointed out that employers need to go beyond checking if the worker holds the correct license to operate the work vehicle. She said employers also need to make sure they provide the worker with appropriate training and instruction to safely operate the vehicle in the conditions they may encounter.

Indervon was also required to pay a victims levy of $1,000.

Its website says the company is currently “the only Aboriginal owned fuel company in Australia”.

“The Alice Springs Indervon franchise was purchased in 1986 by the Ngaanyatjarra Communities in order to supply fuel and petroleum products at a fair price to all Ngaanyatjarra communities”, according to the website. “Over 80 Central Australians are employed by our umbrella organisation, the Ngaanyatjarra Council, half of whom are in the employ of Liberty Indervon making us a leading employer in Alice Springs.”