Industrial Manslaughter Laws – How To Protect Your Business And Employees

What are industrial manslaughter laws?

Industrial manslaughter is the criminal prosecution of employers and officers for workplace deaths.

In Australia, industrial manslaughter laws is a crime with maximum penalties in ACT, Queensland, Victoria, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Employers and officers can be persecuted when employee to whom they owed duty of care dies during the course of work, or is injured during the course of work, and later dies.

Workplace fatalities are rising in Australia. In 2019, 162 Australians were fatally injured while working, compared with 144 workers in 2018. NSW is leading the number of worker fatalities with an average of 56 workers who die at work per year. In recent years many states have introduced manslaughter laws to help reduce the numbers of workers fatalities.

Industrial manslaughter laws are increasing the risks of conducting business and requiring business to review their safety system. Here is what you can do to protect our business and employees.

Industrial manslaughter laws in VIC

Victoria is the latest state/territory that made industrial manslaughter a criminal offence.

Victorian industrial manslaughter laws have been added to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) (OHS Act) and introduced the highest penalty in the OHS Act.

Although the new laws will commence on a day to be proclaimed or 1 July 2020 at the latest, organisations may be prosecuted for negligent conduct before the legislation commences.

Who can be prosecuted under the VIC Workplace Manslaughter?

Employers (including bodies corporate, partnerships, unincorporated bodies and unincorporated associations), self-employed persons and officers.

Volunteers and employees cannot be charged except for officers of organisations if their organisation owes applicable duties to ensure the health and safety of another person in the workplace. These can include:

• directors and secretaries of companies
• partners of a partnership or joint venture
• the trustee of a trust
• persons who participate in the making of decisions that affect a substantial part of the organisations business
• persons who have the capacity to affect significantly the organisations financial standing.

Senior officers of a company, sole traders and partnerships could be separately liable (in addition to the employer)

When do workplace Manslaughter laws apply in VIC?

• VIC Manslaughter laws apply to workers and contractors as well as members of the public.
• Manslaughter laws apply when the accused owed the victim a duty of care in circumstances where there was a high risk of death, serious injury or serious illness.
• the act that breached the duty of care was committed consciously and voluntarily
• the accused’s breach of the duty causes the victim’s death during or after work.

What are the penalties? 

The following maximum penalties apply for conviction of workplace manslaughter in VIC:

• A maximum of 20 years imprisonment for individuals
• A maximum fine of $16.5 million for body corporates

What can companies do?

Industrial manslaughter investigation is likely to focus on whether the organisational has adequate OHS system and procedures for identifying and controlling safety hazards, awareness, training, and supervision as well as the level of compliance to procedures and regulatory requirements.

Certification to ISO 45001 provides you with the peace of mind that you are meeting best practice in all of these areas. Being certified to ISO 45001 also mean that regular surveillance audits are carried out to ensure your management system is maintained and is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest risks and regulations.

Being certified to ISO 45001 also means that regular surveillance visits and audits are carried out to ensure your management system is maintained and is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest risks and regulations.

Industrial manslaughter laws in ACT

Although ACT has the lowest number of workplace fatalities, it was the first to introduce an offence under its general criminal legislation in 2003. The offence was introduced by the Crimes (Industrial Manslaughter) Act 2003 (ACT), which amended the Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) effective from 1 March 2004.

Who can be prosecuted under the ACT manslaughter laws?

Under the Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) an employer or a senior officer of an employer can be charged under the industrial manslaughter law

When do workplace Manslaughter laws apply in ACT?

Employer or a senior officer of an employer can be charged under the Act if:

• A worker dies in the course of employment or is injured in the course of employment and later dies;
• The employer or senior officer’s conduct causes the death of the worker; and
• The employer or senior officer is reckless about causing serious harm to the worker by the conduct; or negligent about causing the death of the worker by the conduct.

What are the penalties?

Maximum penalties are 2,000 penalty units (currently $1.62 million for a body corporate and $320,000 for an individual), imprisonment for 20 years or both.

What can companies do?

Industrial manslaughter investigation is likely to focus on whether the organisational has adequate OHS system and procedures for identifying and controlling safety hazards, awareness, training, and supervision as well as the level of compliance to procedures and regulatory requirements.

Certification to ISO 45001 provides you with the peace of mind that you are meeting best practice in all of these areas. Being certified to ISO 45001 also mean that regular surveillance audits are carried out to ensure your management system is maintained and is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest risks and regulations.

Beings certified to ISO 45001 also means that regular surveillance visits and audits are carried out to ensure your management system is maintained and is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest risks and regulations.

Industrial manslaughter laws in QLD

Queensland Parliament introduced industrial manslaughter laws in 2017. On 4 February 2020, these laws were extended to include the resource industry.

Manslaughter laws in QLD apply to the death of a worker, they do not apply to the death of any member of the public.

Who can be prosecuted under the QLD manslaughter laws?

The bill identifies two new criminal offences of industrial manslaughter:

A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU).

PCBU can be a sole trader, a partnership, company, unincorporated association or government department.

A senior officer.

A senior officer is a senior manager who takes part in decisions which affect the company, has the ability to influence how resources are used and what procedures are necessary, can make decisions about how work health and safety will be managed.

A senior officer can be Chief Executive Officers, General Managers, a director or secretary of a corporation etc.

When do workplace Manslaughter laws apply in ACT?

• When a worker dies during the course of carrying out work, or is injured and later dies
• the PCBU’s, or senior officer’s, action, or in action, caused the death of the worker, or the injury that caused the death
• when the action, or inaction, departs from the standard of care required

What are the penalties?

The QLD manslaughter laws state that individuals guilty of industrial manslaughter will face 20 years imprisonment. Corporate offenders may be liable for fines of up to $10 million.

What can companies do?

Companies in QLD should identify the senior managers and ensure that they understand their obligations

Industrial manslaughter investigation is likely to focus on whether the organisational has adequate OHS system and procedures for identifying and controlling safety hazards, awareness, training, and supervision as well as the level of compliance to procedures and regulatory requirements.

Certification to ISO 45001 provides you with the peace of mind that you are meeting best practice in all of these areas. Being certified to ISO 45001 also mean that regular surveillance audits are carried out to ensure your management system is maintained and is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest risks and regulations.

Beings certified to ISO 45001 also means that regular surveillance visits and audits are carried out to ensure your management system is maintained and is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest risks and regulations.

Industrial manslaughter laws in NT

The Northern Territory Legislative Assembly passed the Territory’s first industrial manslaughter laws in December 2019. The laws commenced on 1 February 2020.

Before the industrial manslaughter laws only individuals could be prosecuted under the Criminal Code Act for breaching a health and safety duty that caused the death of a person

NT new industrial manslaughter laws ensure that business of all sizes could be prosecuted for negligent conduct that has caused a workplace fatality.

Who can be prosecuted under the NT manslaughter laws?

• A person that has a health and safety duty; and
• A person conducting a business or undertaking
• An officer of a person conducting a business or undertaking; and

When do workplace Manslaughter laws apply in NT?

• When a person intentionally engages in conduct; and
• the conduct breaches the health and safety duty owed; and
• the person is reckless or negligent about the conduct breaching the health and safety duty and causing the death of that individual.

What are the penalties?

If convicted of industrial manslaughter, the maximum penalties apply:

• Life imprisonment for an individual; or
• 65 000 penalty units, $10,075,000 under 2019-20 penalty unit rate.

What can companies do?

NT Industrial manslaughter laws did not introduce additional duties. Industrial manslaughter investigation is likely to focus on whether the organisational has adequate OHS system and procedures for identifying and controlling safety hazards, awareness, training, and supervision as well as the level of compliance to procedures and regulatory requirements.

Certification to ISO 45001 provides you with the peace of mind that you are meeting best practice in all of these areas. Being certified to ISO 45001 also mean that regular surveillance audits are carried out to ensure your management system is maintained and is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest risks and regulations.

Beings certified to ISO 45001 also means that regular surveillance visits and audits are carried out to ensure your management system is maintained and is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest risks and regulations.