NSW has become the latest state to introduce new legislation increasing the consequences for employers who fail to abide by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. This is following the federal Government’s introduction of the ‘Closing Loopholes’ legislation, which had a significant workplace health and safety component that proposed laws such as:
- Updates to the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency Act 2013.
- Increasing penalties for industrial manslaughter.
- Ensuring workers have access to representation in matters relating to safety and compliance issues in the workplace.
NSW’s New Legislation
Under the new legislation employers who commit Category 1 offences will be fined over $2 million (for an individual PCBU and officers of a PCBU) and over $10 million (for bodies corporate), which is a significant increase from the previous amount, which was about $800,000 and $4 million respectively. Additionally, employers may also receive up to 10 years of jail, up from the original 5 years.
The new legislation will also increase all court penalties imposed in NSW for matters relating to workplace health and safety and prohibits employers from using insurance to pay for workplace health and safety fines.
What are Category 1 Offences?
Category 1 offences are considered to be the worst offences under the legislation and SafeWork NSW defines situations of Category 1 offences as “a duty holder, without reasonable excuse, engages in conduct with gross negligence or are reckless as to an individual’s death or serious injury or illness.”
What does this mean for employers?
The increased severity of the consequences for employers will in turn increase the consequences of WHS risk. This places more importance on ensuring correct workplace health and safety protocols are in place and being followed. Employers should be looking to review and audit their existing health and safety protocols to ensure they are compliant and taking the necessary steps to protect their employees.
The positive for employers is the legislation doesn’t require employers to make any significant changes to what they are currently doing, assuming that they are taking the correct steps to protect their employees and abiding by the current workplace health and safety legislation.
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