2 October 2024: Industrial manslaughter laws now in effect
On 2 October 2024, changes to the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 came into effect that make industrial manslaughter a criminal offence in Tasmania.
View the new industrial manslaughter provision in section 29 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012.
Work health and safety duties
Under the amendments, industrial manslaughter occurs when negligent conduct, by a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) or by an officer, causes the death of a worker.
The new laws do not impose any new duties on PCBUs/officers under the Act .
Who the laws apply to
The offence of industrial manslaughter applies to:
Both PCBUs and their officers have specific duties under the Act.
The laws do not apply to workers who are not officers.
Criteria for industrial manslaughter
Industrial manslaughter will not apply to all cases of death at a workplace.
A PCBU/officer commits the offence of industrial manslaughter if:
- they have a health and safety duty under the Act; and
- they engage in conduct that breaches that duty; and
- the conduct causes the death of an individual to whom that duty is owed (that is, it substantially contributes to their death); and
- the PCBU/officer engages in the conduct with gross negligence or is reckless as to the risk to an individual of death or serious injury or illness.
Maximum penalties
Individuals face a maximum penalty of 21 years imprisonment.
A corporation faces a maximum penalty of $18 million.
Time limitations for bringing proceedings
There is no time limit for bringing charges related to industrial manslaughter (unlike other proceedings under the Act , which generally have two year time limitations).
This is to allow sufficient time for complex and time-consuming investigations to be undertaken.
If the criteria for industrial manslaughter have not been met, the Court may decide that the PCBU/officer is guilty of a Category 1, Category 2 or Category 3 offence instead.
Enforceable undertakings (also known as WHS undertakings) are not available for industrial manslaughter charges (this is consistent with Category 1 offences).
Case study of an industrial manslaughter prosecution: Victorian stonemasonry business: $1.3 million fine
Victorian stonemasonry business LH Holding Management Pty Ltd (trading as Universal Stone and Marble) was the first company convicted under Victoria's workplace manslaughter laws, after it caused the death of a worker who was fatally crushed at its factory.
In October 2021, a 25 year old sub-contractor died after a forklift, operated by the company’s director with a raised load on a sloping driveway, tipped over and landed on top of him.
A WorkSafe Victoria investigation found it was reasonably practicable for the company to have reduced the risk of serious injury or death by:
- ensuring that the forklift was driven with the load as low to the ground as possible;
- driven in reverse down any slope or incline;
- only operated when other people were at a safe distance; and
- not driven across or turned on any slope or incline.
WorkSafe Victoria found the sub-contractor’s death was entirely preventable.
The court heard the company’s failure to ensure that the forklift was operated properly was negligent because it fell well short of the standard of care that would have been taken by a reasonable person in the circumstances.