Industrial manslaughter offence introduced in New South Wales
On 20 June 2024, the New South Wales Parliament passed legislation to include a new criminal offence of industrial manslaughter under work health and safety legislation.
Read more...Earlier this month, SafeWork NSW announced a three-year work health and safety (WHS) strategy focusing on psychological health and safety.
This announcement comes some two years after the model WHS laws were amended to include duties placed on persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) in relation to managing psychosocial risks. We have previously written about these amendments in another blog.
As part of this strategy, PCBUs can expect that safety regulators will be focusing on the pro-active steps taken by PCBUs to identify and manage psychosocial risks in the workplace. PCBUs can also expect that any failure to comply with these duties will be subject to regulatory action.
If you have not yet taken steps to manage the risk of psychosocial hazards in your workplace (including by conducting risks assessments and implementing appropriate control measures), this should be done as a matter of priority.
