South Australia is introducing a new law called the Work Health and Safety (Industrial Manslaughter) Amendment Bill 2023. This law aims to hold people accountable for serious health and safety breaches that result in someone's death.
Individuals who are reckless or grossly negligent, in the form of conduct that breaches a health and safety duty and causes the death of another person, will face a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, while companies will be exposed to maximum fines of $18 million.
The state will be the sixth jurisdiction to implement such a law.
The government had announced its plans in June and are now fulfilling that promise. The aim is to prevent future workplace incidents and ensure no family must go through the loss of a loved one in a preventable accident.
