Welcome ‘industrial manslaughter’ law

The laws will ensure the most serious work health and safety breaches carry a severe penalty, sending a clear message that those who place a worker’s life at risk will be held to account in the event of a workplace death.
Industrial manslaughter allows a corporation to be held liable for the death of a person caused by that corporation’s employees within the scope of their work. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being.
“We must prevent fatal injuries in the workplace,” Ms Cotsis said.
“These penalties acknowledge the significant pain and suffering of families and loved ones of workers who have died in preventable workplace incidents.”
Despite years of campaigning by the families of those killed at work, NSW is the last mainland State without an industrial manslaughter offence or legislation in parliament.
In February 2023, the former government, with other States and territories, agreed to amend model work health and safety laws to allow for jurisdictions to introduce industrial manslaughter.
SafeWork will begin an extensive consultation process which will include work health and safety experts, business groups, unions, legal stakeholders and families of people who have been killed at work, and the State Government will formally begin the consultation process in coming weeks with the intention to introduce a bill to parliament in the first half of next year.
Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey said this legislation was not just timely, “it’s well overdue”.
“Workers’ lives aren’t a commodity, and this law sends a clear message – if you neglect your duty of care to your employees, there are severe consequences,” he said.