Vic wall collapse sign company apologises

The company that put advertising signage on a Melbourne wall that collapsed and killed three people has apologised and said it should have done more to ensure the wall was safe.

Alexander Jones and Frenchwoman Marie-Faith Fiawoo were killed when the freestanding brick wall fell onto Swanston Street in the CBD in March 28, 2013.

Bridget Jones, Alexander's sister, was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with life threatening injuries where she died three days later.

Aussie Signs Pty Ltd told the Victorian County Court on Friday it admitted fault after pleading guilty last August to one charge of failing to ensure people were not exposed to risk.

However defence lawyer Nick Papas said Aussie Signs Pty Ltd was in a "lesser position" than Grocon Victoria Street Pty Ltd, who owned the site and commissioned the construction of the advertising cladding.

The three-metre-high hoarding was up to 70cm taller than the freestanding brickwall it was attached to, the court heard.

"This was a deteriorating wall, this was Grocon's wall," Mr Papas said.

He said Grocon Victoria Street was "replete" with builders and engineers and had admitted in its plea before the Melbourne Magistrates Court in 2014 it "took the eye off the ball".

"Many, many, many people tragically didn't note the risk," he told the court.

The subsidiary of construction giant Grocon was fined $250,000 after pleading guilty to failing to provide a safe workplace.

Prosecutors could not prove the wall would not have collapsed if the advertising hoarding had not been attached to it, but the hoarding increased the risk the wall would collapse, the County Court heard on Friday.

Prosecutor Greg Lyon rejected the argument Aussie Signs was less culpable than Grocon Victoria Street.

"The fact of the matter is when you employ these people to do a job, they are effectively in control," Mr Lyon told the court.

During the plea hearing the company apologised to the loved ones of the three killed the day the wall fell, saying it wanted to acknowledge the deaths and extend its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the three who died.

"It is hoped that with the finalisation of these proceedings those affected can get a level of closure in the ongoing and difficult grieving process," the statement said.

Aussie Signs Pty Ltd will be sentenced next week.