- Published:
- Tuesday 13 October 2026 at 2:55 pm
Energy Safe Victoria is warning companies and workers about the potentially deadly consequences of failing to operate cranes and other machinery safely near overhead powerlines, after a contact incident left a worker with severe burns.
Quinlan Cranes has been fined $2,700 without conviction after pleading guilty in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court to one charge of putting people in danger by damaging or interfering with protected electrical infrastructure, an offence under the Electricity Safety (General) Regulations 2019.
The charge related to an incident at a residential construction site in Norlane in September 2025, where the company had been hired to lift sections of a modular home from a truck onto structural beams.
CCTV footage captured the moment a steel crane chain contacted an overhead powerline, causing an arc flash. Four workers received electric shocks, including one man who suffered critical burns and was airlifted to hospital.
In sentencing on Monday 12 October, Magistrate Mellas noted the seriousness of the offending.
The case is a timely reminder for employers and workers that contacting or encroaching on overhead powerlines can have devastating consequences.
No-go zones set minimum safe distances that people, machinery and equipment must maintain from overhead powerlines.
Anyone planning work near powerlines must identify the risks before work starts and obey the required safe distances. Where required, contractors must use an appropriately qualified spotter to make sure all parts of cranes, machinery, and attached equipment stay well clear.
Operators can also contact the electricity distribution company to discuss appropriate safety arrangements, including whether the powerline needs to be de-energised.
In the past 12 months, Energy Safe has recorded 40 powerline contacts involving people, vehicles or machinery. These incidents killed two Victorian workers and seriously injured two others.
Energy Safe CEO Leanne Hughson said the Norlane incident showed how quickly work near powerlines could go seriously wrong.
“This incident left a worker severely burned, but it could easily have ended in tragedy,” Ms Hughson said.
“If you’re operating a crane or other machinery near powerlines, you need to know exactly where they are, plan your work around them and make sure everyone and everything on site stays outside the no-go zones.
“You don’t have to touch a powerline for electricity to seriously injure or kill you. Electricity can arc across a gap, so never assume you have enough clearance – know the safe distance and stay well clear.
“Energy Safe will hold companies and workers accountable if they ignore these safety requirements and put lives at risk by working too close to powerlines without the required safety checks or authorisation.”
For more information about No Go Zones and working safely around powerlines, visit the Energy Safe website.
Energy Safe. Always.
Media contact: April Dudgeon | 0498 188 117 | media@energysafe.vic.gov.au
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