Legislation to create a criminal offence of industrial manslaughter has passed Victoria’s lower house.

The Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2019 passed its first test on Thursday, despite Coalition MPs voting against it.

The Bill will now head to the Legislative Council where the Labor Government has 18 of 40 members and will require support from the crossbench.

In a statement, a coalition of employer groups – including the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Victorian Farmers Federation, Housing Industry Association, Master Builders Association of Victoria and Australian Industry Group – called for amendments to the legislation.

“Jointly, employer groups have proposed several sound and workable improvements to the drafting of the legislation that would have enhanced its safety objectives,” the group stated.

“We consider that, without significant change, the legislation will have detrimental effects on safety, investment and jobs.”

The tough new laws are a re-election promise of Premier Daniel Andrews, with employers facing 20 year jail terms if their negligence leads to the death of an employee, under tough new laws proposed in Victoria.

If the legislation is passed, the state will carry the heftiest safety fines in Australia, with a maximum of 100,000 penalty units ($15,857,000).

WorkSafe will be responsible for prosecuting employers who do the wrong thing, with its ability to investigate and prosecute offenders of workplace manslaughter given a boost thanks to the State Government announcing a $10 million package.

Worksafe’s investigation and enforcement capacity will be increased, with a specialist team established to lead investigations and prosecutions of workplace manslaughter.

Five new investigators will also be recruited and a comprehensive training program will be rolled out for first responder inspectors.

AREEA submits member views on review of model WHS laws

In August AREEA made a submission to Safe Work Australia’s (SWA) Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (CRIS) on the impacts of implementing the Recommendations of the 2018 Review of the Model WHS laws (2018 Review) as part of the consultation process on behalf of employers in the resources and energy industry.

AREEA provided feedback on recommendations of significant concern to members in the resources and energy industry.

AREEA’s position, consistent with other business representative groups, is that there are existing, appropriate avenues within Australian criminal law for individuals to be prosecuted for gross negligence that has led to a workplace death. A framework that focuses on punitive measures to health and safety compliance diminishes an organisations’ safety culture. AREEA maintains that continuous improvement in safety outcomes in the workplace, is best driven by cooperative, proactive initiatives to enhance safety culture, not an adversarial legal approach seeking to attribute blame and liability after an accident occurs.

Click here to read more about the focus of AREEA’s submission or here to view AREEA’s entire submission.

For further information about the submission or the 2018 Review of Model WHS Laws contact [email protected]