Company directors and senior executives are urged to review and strengthen their involvement in the safety culture and safety system decision making processes of their organisations following the passing of Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Dangerous Goods) Bill 2026.
Whilst SafetyNet’s previous report on the Bill focused on changes to dangerous goods regulation, the legislation also contains a major reform that will reshape how company directors and senior executives approach their responsibilities to workplace safety. The amendments to the OHS Act are planned to commence in April 2028 to give duty holders and industry time to prepare for the change
Clause 60 of the Bill’s explanatory memorandum details the new due diligence duty for officers of bodies corporate, bringing Victoria much closer to the officer obligations that that form part of the model Work Health and Safety laws in most other Australian jurisdictions.
For the first time, company directors and other officers will have a clear legal obligation to take reasonable steps to ensure their organisation complies with its health and safety duties. Instead of simply relying on management or safety professionals to competently manage safety, officers will be expected to demonstrate active oversight of their organisation's safety performance.
The legislation sets out what due diligence looks like in practice. Officers will be required to stay informed about workplace health and safety issues, understand the hazards associated with their organisation's operations, ensure adequate resources and systems are in place to eliminate or minimise risks, establish processes for responding to hazard information, ensure compliance with consultation and incident notification requirements, and take steps to verify that these systems are actually working.
Importantly, the new legislation moves beyond simply requiring company leaders to have policies on paper. Directors will need evidence that safety systems are effective and being implemented throughout the organisation.
The potential consequences for an officer who fails to exercise due diligence could be the same maximum penalty that would have applied had they personally breached the underlying OHS duty. For a breach of an employer's primary duty under section 21 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, that currently amounts to a maximum fine of approximately $380,000.
The penalty where a due diligence failure contributes to a company committing workplace manslaughter could see officers face fines of up to 10,000 penalty units - currently more than $2million.
The reforms reinforce that workplace safety responsibilities do not rest solely with workers on the ground, but also with those responsible for enforcing and maintaining compliance, with the new duty designed to strengthen safety culture from the top down.
These reforms reinforce a simple but important message: workplace health and safety is no longer just an operational issue, but a responsibility on the shoulders and the conscience of the boardroom decision-makers.
Read more: OHS Amendment (Dangerous Goods) Bill 2026 - Explanatory memorandum