Industrial Manslaughter Laws Passed in NSW

NSW has passed legislation introducing a new industrial manslaughter offence under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW). The reform significantly increases penalties where grossly negligent safety failures lead to workplace fatalities and reinforces the importance of effective safety governance by businesses and company officers.

Key Takeaways

• Industrial manslaughter is a criminal offence under NSW work health and safety law where gross negligence by a business or its officers causes a workplace death.‍
• The offence applies to Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs) and company officers.
• Maximum penalties include up to 25 years imprisonment for individuals and $20 million fines for corporations.
• The offence does not create new safety duties, but increases the consequences where existing WHS obligations are breached.
• Courts may consider systemic failures in corporate management or safety systems when determining whether conduct amounts to gross negligence.

Introduction

The NSW Parliament has passed legislation introducing a new offence of industrial manslaughter under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW). The reform represents one of the most significant developments in Australian workplace safety law in recent years.

The Work Health and Safety Amendment (Industrial Manslaughter) Act 2024 creates a specific criminal offence where a workplace death occurs as a result of grossly negligent breaches of work health and safety duties. The offence carries severe penalties, including the possibility of imprisonment for individuals and substantial fines for corporations.

While the introduction of industrial manslaughter has attracted considerable attention, it is important to understand that the reform does not create new safety duties. Instead, it significantly increases the consequences where existing work health and safety obligations are breached and those failures lead to a fatality.

Workplace fatalities will often trigger regulator investigations and may also constitute a notifiable incident under NSW work health and safety laws.

For businesses and company officers, the reform reinforces the importance of effective safety governance, risk management and operational oversight.

What Is Industrial Manslaughter?

The new offence applies where a workplace death occurs and a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) or an officer of a PCBU has engaged in conduct that amounts to gross negligence in breach of their work health and safety duties.

In general terms, industrial manslaughter may arise where:

• A PCBU or officer owes a duty under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)
• That duty is breached
• The breach involves gross negligence
• The conduct causes the death of a worker or another person.

The offence can apply to both organisations and individuals under the legislation.

Key Elements of the Offence

The concept of gross negligence is central to the new offence. It involves conduct that represents a serious departure from the standard of care that would reasonably be expected in the circumstances.

Importantly, the legislation recognises that gross negligence may arise from systemic organisational failures, not just individual acts.

For corporations, the court may consider matters such as:

• inadequate corporate management or supervision
• failures in organisational safety systems
• ineffective communication of safety information
• lack of oversight of known hazards or risks.

In assessing whether a corporation has been grossly negligent, courts may consider whether the death resulted from systemic failures in corporate management, supervision or safety systems, rather than the conduct of a single individual.

This focus on organisational management means investigations are likely to examine how safety risks were governed within the business, including leadership oversight and internal reporting systems.

Penalties Under the New Law

The penalties for industrial manslaughter in NSW are among the most severe available under Australian work health and safety legislation.

Maximum penalties include:

• Individuals (including company officers): up to 25 years imprisonment
• Corporations: fines of up to $20 million.

Unlike other work health and safety offences, there is no limitation period for prosecution. This means proceedings may be commenced many years after the workplace death occurred.

The legislation also provides that enforceable undertakings are not available as an alternative to prosecution for industrial manslaughter offences.

Why the Reforms Were Introduced

Industrial manslaughter laws have been introduced across several Australian jurisdictions in response to community concern that existing penalties did not adequately reflect the seriousness of workplace fatalities.

The NSW reform aligns the state with other jurisdictions that have implemented similar offences aimed at strengthening accountability where serious safety failures lead to death.

While the offence carries significant penalties, its primary objective is to reinforce the importance of effective safety management and governance at the highest levels of organisations.

Enforcement and Prosecution

The introduction of the offence also coincides with strengthened enforcement capability.

The NSW Government has confirmed the establishment of a specialised prosecution capability within the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to deal with industrial manslaughter cases. The purpose of this specialised team is to support the investigation and prosecution of matters involving workplace fatalities where gross negligence may be alleged.

This development reflects a broader policy focus on ensuring that serious workplace incidents are investigated thoroughly and, where appropriate, prosecuted.

From Legal Obligation to Operational Control

One of the most important points for businesses to understand is that industrial manslaughter does not create new safety duties.

The obligations on PCBUs and officers to ensure the health and safety of workers have existed under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) since its introduction.

What the new offence does is highlight the consequences where those obligations are not effectively translated into operational practice.

In many serious incidents, investigations reveal patterns such as:

• known hazards that were not adequately controlled
• repeated safety concerns that were not escalated
• inadequate supervision of high-risk work
• failures in safety systems or procedures
• breakdowns in communication or reporting of risks.

These types of systemic failures can lead regulators and prosecutors to examine whether the organisation’s conduct crossed the threshold from poor safety management into gross negligence.

For company officers in particular, the reforms reinforce the importance of active due diligence in ensuring that appropriate resources, systems and processes are in place to manage safety risks.

What Businesses Should Be Doing Now

The introduction of industrial manslaughter laws should prompt organisations to review their existing safety governance arrangements and risk management systems.

Practical steps may include:

• ensuring key workplace risks are properly identified and assessed
• confirming that effective control measures are implemented and monitored
• strengthening supervision and oversight of high-risk work activities
• improving internal safety reporting and escalation processes
• ensuring officers receive appropriate information to exercise due diligence.

These measures are not new obligations, but they are critical in demonstrating that organisations are actively managing safety risks rather than reacting after incidents occur.

What is industrial manslaughter under NSW law?

Industrial manslaughter is a criminal offence under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) where gross negligence by a business or its officers causes the death of a worker or another person. The offence applies to Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs) and company officers and carries penalties of up to 25 years imprisonment for individuals and fines of up to $20 million for corporations.

Who can be liable for industrial manslaughter in NSW?

Under the legislation, liability may apply to a PCBU or an officer of a PCBU where their conduct involves gross negligence and causes a workplace death. Courts may consider whether the death resulted from systemic failures in corporate management, supervision or safety systems.

Final Insight

Industrial manslaughter prosecutions are unlikely to arise from a single mistake. More commonly, they follow investigations that reveal systemic failures in safety management, governance and risk control.

The introduction of this offence serves as a reminder that work health and safety obligations must be supported by effective systems, leadership oversight and practical implementation on the ground.

For organisations operating in high-risk industries, the focus should remain on ensuring that safety obligations are not simply understood at a legal level, but are embedded in everyday operational practice.

About the Author

Jason Barakat – WHS Lawyer & Consultant

Jason is the Principal of Obsequium and advises organisations across Australia on work health and safety law, regulatory investigations, and compliance governance. With over 18 years of experience, he combines legal expertise with practical consulting insight to help businesses navigate complex WHS obligations, respond effectively to incidents and regulator action, and implement practical systems that strengthen safety and operational performance.