A recent occupational health and safety (OHS) prosecution over a quad bike fatality gained some mainstream media attention, primarily due to one of the owners being an independent New South Wales politician, Helen Dalton. Strip out the political newsworthiness, and there are some serious OHS lessons for all employers to be learned from the Court judgement.
As I write this, hundreds of workers’ memorial services are taking place around the world. I usually attend the Melbourne, Victoria, event and wish I could have been there today because one speaker, Lana Cormie, transcended the usual politics and platitudes to outline a broader strategy for occupational health and safety (OHS) reform.
The Victorian Government has yet to respond to a report on occupational health and safety (OHS) sentencing and penalties that it received over the Christmas period. The longer it takes to respond to the Sentencing Advisory Council recommendations, the more delayed the action required to improve the systems, which can deter employers from ignoring their OHS obligations and the longer unnecessary risks to work health and safety persist.
In 2018, before the introduction of Industrial Manslaughter laws, Dr Gerry Ayres of the CFMEU and I spoke about the importance of deterrence. In that interview, he pointed out that financial penalties fail as deterrents for several reasons:
Recently, sentencing in a court case in Melbourne has generated much online chatter about excessive working hours and the exploitation of workers in a small law practice. One report of the $A50,000 fine against Erudite Legal says that the company:
“…forced a junior lawyer to work up to 24-hour days and watch an ice hockey movie at 1am so she could understand her boss’ philosophical position”.
Other media reports provide more details of the successful prosecution, but the occupational health and safety (OHS) context is mostly absent.
The Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council‘s report on OHS sentencing received minimal media coverage. Perhaps more will come when the government responds to the recommendations. However, the coverage focused on the recommendation for a substantial increase in financial penalties for those who breach occupational health and safety (OHS) laws. The report contained much more than financial penalties, but the political climate will likely stifle any significant reforms.
In January 2025, Kilvington Grammar was fined over $100,000 for breaches of occupational health and safety (OHS) laws related to the death of one of its students, 16-year-old diabetic Lachlan Cook, who was on an overseas school trip. The best source of publicly available reports on this case appears to be the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This article does not discuss the incident but focuses on the sentencing decisions and their relevance to OHS.
The Victoria Premier, Jacinta Allan, reshuffled her Cabinet and recently allocated responsibility for the Workcover and Transport Accident Commission portfolios to Deputy Premier Ben Carroll. This may be the first time a politician of that position has been given these portfolios. But what should Ben Carroll do now?
Continue reading “What should Victoria’s new WorkSafe Minister do now?”
