The Queensland government has passed tough new industrial manslaughter laws, to form part of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld).
Companies with operations in Queensland now face fines of up to $10,000,000 for industrial manslaughter, compared to fines of up to $3,000,000 for regular contraventions of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld).
Senior officers are also seriously impacted, facing up to 20 years' jail time under the new laws, compared to 5 years' jail time for regular breaches.
If a senior officer's conduct (whether by act or omission) causes the death of a worker, and the senior officer is negligent about causing the death of the worker by the conduct, the senior officer commits the offence of industrial manslaughter.
A senior officer is defined as a person who is concerned with, or takes part in, a company's management, whether or not the person is a director or is given the name executive officer. For a non-company, a senior officer is the holder of an executive position (however described) who makes, or takes part in making, decisions affecting all, or a substantial part, of the businesses' functions.
The industrial manslaughter laws will take effect on a date to be fixed by proclamation, and will not presently apply to the mining sector.
Although the Australian Capital Territory also has industrial manslaughter laws, they are contained in the Crimes Act 1900, not work health and safety legislation, and have a narrower definition of "omission" than the Queensland legislation.
Introducing these new offences for industrial manslaughter is meant to send a clear message about societal expectations around safety in the workplace. The Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations has stated that workplace health and safety standards should be a No.1 priority for senior officers whose decisions can have catastrophic impacts on the safety of workers.
If you are a senior officer of a business located in Queensland, beware – Queensland now has the toughest laws in Australia with respect to workplace fatalities and you could be imprisoned for up to 20 years for negligence with respect to work health and safety.
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