As a senior leader, you have a legislative responsibility to stay informed about work health and safety (WHS) matters relevant to your operations. However, without clear visibility into past health and safety prosecutions, it can be difficult to fully grasp the risks that may exist within your business.
By understanding real-world examples of safety breaches, you can critically assess your current WHS practices, ensuring that reasonably practicable controls are in place to prevent similar incidents. The concept of ‘reasonably practicable’ requires weighing the likelihood and potential harm of a hazard—meaning that even if your workplace hasn’t experienced an incident, significant cases within your industry should inform your risk management approach.
In addition to knowledge of the hazard and risk, which is supported by this blog and those previous, additional considerations when determining reasonably practicable include the degree of harm, availability and suitability of the controls, and the cost of eliminating or reducing the risk.
Since 2015, Action OHS Consulting has systematically reviewed and analysed prosecution data from WorkSafe Victoria and SafeWork NSW. This data provides valuable insights that can help you influence key stakeholders, strengthen your health and safety strategy, and drive more informed decision-making.
To support this, we’ve compiled prosecution data from:
This blog offers a comprehensive review of WHS prosecutions from 2015 through 2024, equipping you with the insights needed to manage safety risks in your organisation proactively.
Prosecutions: Numbers and related legislation
The 2024 calendar year saw a total of 117 prosecutions against the Victorian health and safety legislation, whilst in NSW the number of prosecutions was 61.
Victoria:
There has been a 15% decrease in Victoria compared to the previous year. This decrease returns the prosecution number back to a similar number as in CY2022. However, it is important to note that whilst 117 prosecutions are 8.5% above the 10-year average, it is below the trend up that was being seen pre-COVID, as CY2018 and CY2019 reported 132 and 137 prosecutions, respectively.
NSW:
When compared to the previous year, there has been a decrease in prosecutions in NSW by three (3) [5%]. This is compared to an increase of five (5) [8%] in CY2023 compared to CY2022.
Within Victoria
• 91 Prosecutions were recorded against the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 only.
• 20 Prosecutions involved the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017.
• 02 Prosecutions were recorded against the Crimes Act 1958.
• 01 Prosecutions involved the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 only.
• 01 Prosecutions involved the Dangerous Goods Act 1985 and Dangerous Goods Regulations 2012.
• 01 Prosecutions involved the Dangerous Goods Act 1985.
• 01 Prosecution involved the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 and Dangerous Goods Act 1985.
Consistent with previous years, zero prosecutions were against the 2007 version of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, updated in 2017.
Within NSW
• 59 prosecutions were recorded against the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 only.
• 02 prosecutions were recorded against the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 only.
Prosecution Timeframes
The table below lists the timeframe for the prosecution’s outcomes from 2024 when measured against the date of the offence.
Table 1: Timeframe between the date of the offence and the prosecution outcome for the 2024 prosecution outcomes reported by SafeWork NSW & WorkSafe Victoria. Bracketed numbers represent the increase/decrease from 2023.
Health and Safety Fines
Year on year, the average fine in Victoria has reduced by 24% when compared to CY2023. This follows the average fine increasing by 130% from $50,489 to $116,332 when contacting CY2022 and CY2023, respectively. The median fine in Victoria has increased by 20% from $25,000 to $30,000.
In CY2023, there were three (3) fines greater than $1,000,000; [$2,900,000; $2,100,000; $1,500,000], compared to one (1) fine greater than $1,000,000 in CY2024.
With respect to NSW the median fine was consistent with CY2022 and CY2023. The average fine has reduced. However, the last three (3) years, are the three (3) largest averages over the last 10 years.
Both the average and median fines were greater in NSW, when compared to Victoria. The average fine in NSW is more than double that of Victoria, whilst the median fine is more than 5x greater in NSW when compared to Victoria.
WorkSafe Victoria reported issuing ten (10) Enforceable Undertakings during CY2024, which equates to 8.5% of prosecutions. This is double the number of Enforceable Undertakings issued in CY2023.
An ‘enforceable undertaking’ is a legally binding agreement between WorkSafe Victoria and the employer. The employer is obliged to carry out the specific activities outlined in the agreed undertaking. EU’s will typically guide and direct the business being prosecuted to improve its health and safety program.
Health and Safety Fines: Maximum Issued.
The maximum fine in both Victoria and NSW reduced by 55% and 40% respectively, when compared to CY2023.
The maximum fines issued to a business were associated with the following events:
Victoria
On 12 October 2021, a worker was fatally crushed by a forklift while assisting with the movement of an A-frame steel rack at a stonemasonry business in Somerton.
LH Holding Management Pty Ltd operated the business. Its sole director, Laith Hanna, attempted to move an empty A-frame rack using a forklift, driving down a slope with a high swinging load. The forklift tipped, crushing the worker.
Following a WorkSafe investigation, the offender was charged with breaching section 26 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Court found the offender failed to ensure safe forklift operation.
On 1 May 2024, the offender was convicted and fined $1,300,000. Under section 85 B of the Sentencing Act, compensation of $120,000 was ordered to the deceased’s family.
NSW
Between about July 2014 and 6 December 2019, two workers were exposed to cobalt dust, a known respiratory sensitising agent that can cause occupational illness, while undertaking work at an industrial chemical manufacturing facility at Kooragang.
After a SafeWork NSW investigation the defendant, Orica Australia Pty Ltd, was charged with a breach of section 31(1)/19(1) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
On 1 May 2024, the defendant was convicted by the District Court and fined $1,200,000.
It is not just businesses that are being prosecuted in relation to health and safety breaches.
Health and safety prosecutions are not limited to corporations. In CY2024, 8% and 25% of prosecutions were issued to workers in Victoria and NSW, respectively – equating to 9 and 15 prosecutions, respectively.
Whilst the jump looks significant in NSW when compared to CY2023, this increase returns the distribution of prosecutions back to the levels that occurred in CY2021 and before.
The average fine issued to a worker in Victoria and NSW was $6,667 and $25,687, respectively. Whilst consistent against the CY2023 figure in NSW $27,392, respectively, a significant reduction was seen in Victoria $16,059 (readjusted) compared to CY2023.
Prosecutions: What is the cause and where are the gaps?
With respect to the criteria/codes that lead to the prosecution – of the 56 criteria that were referenced, 14 criteria were associated with more than 10% of the prosecutions in 2024.
As defined by WorkSafe Victoria, these are outlined below.
These criteria, whilst changing in distribution, have been consistent since 2015. “Failure to provide a safe system of work”, “Falls/Work at height offence”, “Failure to provide a safe workplace”, and “Failure to provide a safe working environment” are consistent Top 4 and continue to place a clear duty on all workplaces to understand their operations, the hazards associated with their work, and ensure that the established controls are implemented.
With psychosocial hazards and silica core regulator themes, it will be interesting to monitor the prosecutions that reference these criteria/codes in years to come. During CY2024: Silica = 0; Stress =1; Occupational violence and aggression = 1; Sexual Harassment = 0; Workplace bullying/harassment = 4.
Health Check
Action OHS Consulting, in collaboration with its sister-company Safety Champion Software, has developed a self-assessment tool: Safety Champion Impact Assessment. This tool has been designed to support businesses to understand potential points of failure, allowing them to proactively improve their health and safety program.
We plan to make this tool accessible up until 31 April 2025.
Free consulting support
As part of the WorkSafe Victoria OHS Essentials Program, businesses with operations in Victoria, may be eligible for three (3) OHS Consulting Support sessions delivered over 12-months by an Action OHS Consulting consultant. These sessions are designed to guide businesses on how to deliver on the legal OHS duties and obligations.
Free webinar support
If your initial preference is for online guidance, Action OHS Consulting developed and delivered a four-part webinar series providing direction on how businesses can best manage their legal obligations associated with health and safety.
The good news is that it is free for you to re-watch.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Your Health and Safety Program
Health and safety legislation follows a self-regulated, risk-based approach. Businesses and leaders must proactively identify foreseeable risks and implement practical controls to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents. The goal is to protect workers, contractors, customers, and visitors from harm.
However, documented policies and procedures may not always align with real-world operations. Leaders must ensure that safety practices reflect actual work conditions. To achieve this, workplaces should:
- • Make safety accessible. Ensure policies are easy to understand and relevant. Safety software like Safety Champion can help manage scheduled tasks, incident reporting, and hazard identification, improving visibility and proactive risk management.
- • Identify key risks. List the “Top 5” hazards that could cause the most harm and document existing controls. Involve workers from different roles to gain insights and identify areas for improvement. Safety Champion’s Risk Module can guide this process and track discussions.
- • Maintain ongoing consultation. Regularly engage workers in structured and informal discussions to review and improve safety measures.
- • Build competency. Provide thorough inductions covering safety expectations and operational risks. Consider assigning experienced workers as mentors to new and young employees.
- • Ensure sustainability. Avoid reliance on a single person to manage safety. Spreadsheets and folders can be challenging to track, whereas software like Safety Champion provides real-time visibility, deadline reminders, and data-driven insights.
- • Integrate safety into procurement. Before purchasing equipment, services, or machinery, assess safety implications to prevent risks from being overlooked.
We welcome your thoughts and questions. If you’d like access to the data behind these insights, feel free to contact us.
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