MTA February 2023 SA

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WORKPLACE RELATIONS
Industrial
Manslaughter
It appears that there will be a new law introduced by the South Australian Government.
Criminalising industrial manslaughter
has been a commitment from South
Australian Labor since 2018 and in
November 2022 they released the
draft Work Health and Safety (Industrial
Manslaughter) Amendment Bill (“the
Bill”). While the safety of employees
is paramount, the MTA maintains
that existing work health and safety
legislation, as well as criminal
manslaughter laws, are sufficient.
Nevertheless, given this Bill is likely
to become law, it is important for
MTA members to be aware of
their WHS responsibilities and the
potential increased penalties should
a workplace incident result in an
employee’s death.
Current WHS Obligations
Any breaches of WHS obligations
may currently be prosecuted under
three (3) categories:
Category 3 applies in circumstances
where:
• a person fails to comply with their
health and safety duty.
Maximum penalty:
- Corporation: $500k
- PCBU or an officer of the PCBU:
$100k
- Individual (including worker): $50k
Category 2 applies in circumstances
where:
• a person fails to comply with their
health and safety duty; and
• the failure exposes an individual
to a risk of death or serious injury
or illness.
Maximum penalty:
- Corporation: $1.5m
- PCBU or an officer of the PCBU:
$300k
- Individual (including a worker):
$150k
Category 1 applies in circumstances
where:
• a person, without reasonable
excuse, engages in conduct that
exposes an individual to whom a
health and safety duty is owed to
a risk of death or serious injury or
illness; and
• the person is reckless as to the
risk to an individual or death or
serious injury or illness.
Maximum penalty:
- Corporation: $3m
- PCBU or an officer of the
PCBU: $600k and/or 5 years
imprisonment
- Individual (including a
worker): $300k and/or 5 years
imprisonment
New Offence
The Bill amends the Work Health
and Safety Act 2012 by including a
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