Tasmania has become the last state in Australia to introduce industrial manslaughter laws, following years of campaigning by grieving families and unions.
The legislation, which passed the Upper House on Tuesday evening, will make it possible to charge both companies and individuals for negligence that leads to a worker’s death.
The new laws, pushed through by Labor, will impose significant penalties of up to 21 years in prison and fines of up to $18 million for companies found responsible for a worker’s death due to gross negligence.
Unions Tasmania Secretary Jessica Munday says it’s a relief the laws have finally passed after years of lobbying the government.
She said in the decade to 2022, Tasmania recorded 85 work-related fatalities and around 7,500 workers’ compensation claims from injured workers annually.
The bill passed with the support of the Greens and other crossbench MPs but faced opposition from the Liberal Government.
They argued that existing manslaughter laws in the criminal code were sufficient.
Labor leader Dean Winter said the legislation will make the state’s workplaces “safer”.
“Everyone wants workers to come home safely,” he said.
“Tasmania was last of every state because we have a tired, old, chaotic Liberal Government that does not care about working people.”
“We are the party of workers and we are hungry to do great things for working people that deliver well-paid, safe and secure jobs.”
