This article applies to all organisations in NSW.

Work Health and Safety Amendment (Industrial Manslaughter) Bill 2024 (NSW)

On 20 June 2024, the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Industrial Manslaughter) Bill 2024 (NSW) (the Bill) passed the NSW Parliament and is currently awaiting Royal Assent. Relevant sections of the Bill will commence on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

Operationally Significant Change

The Bill inserts a range of amendments into the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (the Act). The most significant change (from an operational perspective) is the introduction of the offence of industrial manslaughter.

Further Information

Section 34C of the Act will provide that a person commits the offence of industrial manslaughter, if the person:

• is a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) or an officer of a PCBU, who has a health and safety duty; and
• engages in conduct that constitutes a failure to comply with the person’s health and safety duty, and causes the death of a worker or another individual to whom the PCBU owes a health and safety duty; and
• engages in the conduct with gross negligence.

The maximum penalty for this offence is for an individual, imprisonment for 25 years, or for a body corporate, $20,000,000.

Relevantly, health and safety duty has the same meaning as in Part 2, Division 5 of the Act (and means a duty imposed under Division 2, 3 or 4 of Part 2 of the Act), and conduct means an act or an omission to perform an act.

Further, section 34D of the Act will provide an exception from the offence of industrial manslaughter for volunteers, while section 34E will set out that there is no limitation period for commencing proceedings for the offence of industrial manslaughter.

Please click here to access the full Bill.