The sentence was handed down in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Thursday after the department pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to provide and maintain a working environment that was safe and without risks to health.

The department was convicted and fined $80,000 in relation to an incident at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Precinct in January 2018.

Related news: Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre worker discharged from hospital following alleged assault

A youth justice worker required surgery for serious head and shoulder injuries after a child struck the worker with a guitar in a courtyard of the centre's Deakin Unit.

The person could not return to work for four months

The court heard the department failed to inform workers of the restrictions and conditions on the use of, or access to, guitars in the unit.

The child was not permitted to use, carry, or handle a guitar outside of his bedroom due to a history of violent behaviour in detention.

The department was separately convicted and fined $20,000 in relation to an incident at the Parkville Youth Justice Centre in December 2018.

A youth justice worker sustained serious facial burns and later developed post-traumatic stress disorder after hot liquid was thrown in his face.

A child also punched and kicked the man in a corridor of the centre's Park View Unit.

The court heard it was reasonably practical for the department to provide and maintain a system of work to enforce the unit's rule that hot drinks were not to be taken out of the kitchen area.

The department was also ordered to pay costs of $16,207.

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