Work Health and Safety Act 2011

A person commits an offence if:

the person is:

a person conducting a business or undertaking; or

an officer of a person conducting a business or undertaking; and

the person has a health and safety duty; and

the person intentionally engages in conduct; and

the conduct breaches the health and safety duty; and

the conduct causes the death of an individual; and

the person was reckless, or negligent, as to whether the conduct would cause the death of an individual.

There is no limitation period for bringing proceedings for an offence against this subsection (see subsection 232(2A)).

In the case of an offence committed by an individual—25 years imprisonment.

In the case of an offence committed by a body corporate—$18,000,000.

For the purposes of subsection (1), a person’s conduct causes a death if the conduct substantially contributes to the death.

Subsection 4B(2) of the Crimes Act 1914 does not apply in relation to an offence against subsection (1) of this section.

If, in proceedings for an offence (the prosecuted offence) against subsection (1), the trier of fact:

is not satisfied that the person is guilty of the prosecuted offence; and

is satisfied that the person is guilty of an offence (the alternative offence) that is a Category 1 offence or a Category 2 offence;

For the purposes of subsection (4), it does not matter whether the proceedings mentioned in that subsection were brought at a time when, or in circumstances in which, bringing proceedings for the alternative offence would have been permitted under section 232 (limitation period for prosecutions).