A sinkhole roughly 8–10 m wide and several metres deep has opened on the AJ Burkitt Reserve sporting oval in Heidelberg, directly adjacent to the North East Link tunnel alignment in Melbourne’s northeast. Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority has confirmed the “surface hole” is in the vicinity of active tunnelling operations, leading to a work pause while engineers and emergency crews carry out geotechnical investigations and monitoring. No injuries or structural damage have been reported, but the area remains fully cordoned off pending cause determination and stability assessment.

A 19-year-old worker at Sheridan Skips Burnley’s Smiths Yard site in Burnley suffered life-changing crush injuries on 12 March 2024 when a reversing telescopic handler, operating without rear-view mirrors, pinned him against a brick wall while he was hand-sorting waste. A Health & Safety Executive investigation found no effective vehicle–pedestrian segregation, no physical barriers or refuges, and routine concurrent yard operations with mobile plant and manual pickers. Sheridan Skips Burnley Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £24,000 plus £4,777 costs at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court.

Fines exceeding £90,000 and a 26‑week suspended prison sentence have been imposed after 218 m² of asbestos-containing materials and debris were illegally disturbed and cleared at a demolition site on Greenheath Road, Cannock. Sohan Group Limited was fined £74,900 for failing to appoint a principal contractor under CDM 2015, while Maize Metals Limited was fined £13,400 for proceeding with demolition despite an asbestos management survey identifying ACMs. Unlicensed contractor Disa Properties’ representative, Ali Raza Baig, received a suspended custodial sentence, five-year director disqualification and curfew for arranging unlicensed asbestos removal.