Australia's WHS regulators are likely to amend their statements of regulatory intent to protect employers that don't mandate COVID-19 vaccinations, and are cracking down on the unlawful performance of non-essential work, with closure orders and high fines.
A PCBU has been to ordered to pay nearly $550,000 in penalties and costs, after two of its clients died in similar circumstances in less than three years. Meanwhile, a WHS regulator has revealed the two main electrical hazards recently identified in workplaces.
The maximum fine for industrial manslaughter in the ACT will jump from less than $2 million to $16.5 million, under a new Bill that transfers the offence from the Crimes Act to the WHS Act, and expands the coverage of the laws.
The ACT Government has confirmed plans to transfer the offence of industrial manslaughter from the Crimes Act to its WHS laws, in a move that is likely to increase the maximum fine by millions of dollars.