The Northern Territory's workplace safety watchdog has withdrawn an industrial manslaughter charge against Darwin construction company Kalidonis NT.
The NT WorkSafe charge was the authority's first industrial manslaughter prosecution under the new offence, which came into force in 2020.
The charge related to a fatal workplace incident about three years ago in Maningrida, a remote community about 500 kilometres east of Darwin.
A 50-year-old man was killed in the incident, after a chain allegedly failed and struck him during an excavator towing operation.
The maximum penalty for the withdrawn industrial manslaughter charge is a $10.2 million fine.
The company, Kalidonis NT, and its director, Theofilis Kalidonis, are still each facing a charge of failing to comply with a health and safety duty.
That charge carries a maximum penalty of $1.5 million for a company and $300,000 for an individual, respectively.
NT WorkSafe's lawyer Chrissy McConnel told the Darwin Local Court on Monday that the remaining charges were contested by the company and Mr Kalidonis.
Alternative charges of reckless conduct, which were also laid against the company and its director, were also dropped by NT WorkSafe today.
On its website, Kalidonis NT is described as one of Darwin's largest private construction companies, with previous projects including government contracts for remote community housing.
The case is expected to return to the Darwin Local Court next month.
