Individuals now face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and companies $18 million in fines, if they are found to have caused the death of a worker through a reckless or grossly negligent breach of workplace health and safety.

The new industrial manslaughter laws, which came into effect on 1 July 2024, ensure that serious health and safety breaches carry a penalty that sends a clear message that people who place workers' lives at risk will be held to account.

It also recognises the significant loss suffered by the families of workers who die in preventable workplace incidents.

A person commits industrial manslaughter if:

• they have a health and safety duty under the Work Health and Safety Act
• they engage in conduct that breaches that duty
• the conduct causes the death of an individual to whom that duty is owed, and
• the person engages in the conduct with gross negligence or is reckless as to the risk to an individual of death or serious injury or illness.

SafeWork SA is now leading a statewide awareness campaign to ensure employers understand their obligations and the consequences of failing to adequately protect workers’ health and safety.

SafeWork SA Executive Director Glenn Farrell said there was no second chance with workplace incidents.

“It is imperative employers maintain high standards in protecting their workers and others from risks to their health and safety,” Mr Farrell said.

“The introduction of higher order penalties, including jail time, for acts of gross neglect and recklessness, should deter those who may disregard their work health and safety obligations and re-focus them on their duty to provide safe workplaces.”

Andrea Madeley, who lost her 18-year-old son Daniel in a workplace incident in June 2004 and is the founder of advocacy group Voice of Industrial Death,  welcomed the news.

“I cannot overstate the gruelling and punishing impact on a family after a loved one is killed at work,” Ms Madeley said.

“Every single workplace in South Australia is required by law to manage the safety risks that it exposes its workers to. They do not get to choose.

“The most serious and devastating of outcomes, justifies the most serious of punishments.”

The new laws bring South Australia into line with other jurisdictions that have made industrial manslaughter a crime, including Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.

For more information, visit the SafeWork SA website.