An Irish backpacker in Australia has received a payout after a horrific Visa accident caused her to lose hair and part of her ear.
In what is a cautionary tale for the droves of Irish people who head to Australia every year, Tipperary native Annie Dunne suffered some horrible injuries whilst working rurally for her visa extension.
But it was far from Annie's fault: the labour-hire firm pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe working environment for the young backpacker.
Annie's hair got caught in a mechanical conveyor belt at a packing shed in Shepparton, Victoria leaving the Irish woman with extensive scalp damage and injuries to her ear.
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The Age reported WorkSafe's Executive Director of Health and Safety, Marnie Williams, said it was "staggering" that workers were expected to clean the machines while they were still in operation. Too right.
It goes to show that you really need to be careful when working those 89 days to extend your Australian working holiday visa, and if it doesn't look or sound safe, it probably isn't. Australia has very strict workplace laws for a reason but sadly some slip through the cracks.
