Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts

WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY AMENDMENT ACT 2021 (NO. 19 OF 2021) - SECT 5

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Division 2.6     Industrial manslaughter

34A     Industrial manslaughter

    (1)     A person commits an offence if—

        (a)     the person conducts a business or undertaking, or is an officer of a person who conducts a business or undertaking; and

        (b)     the person has a health and safety duty; and

        (c)     the person engages in conduct; and

        (d)     the conduct results in a breach of the health and safety duty; and

        (e)     the conduct causes—

              (i)     the death of a worker; or

              (ii)     an injury to a worker and the injury later causes the death of the worker; or

              (iii)     the death of another person; and

        (f)     the person is reckless or negligent about causing the death of the worker or other person by the conduct.

Maximum penalty:

        (a)     in the case of an offence committed by an individual as a person conducting a business or undertaking or as an officer of a person conducting a business or undertaking—imprisonment for 20 years; or

        (b)     in the case of an offence committed by a body corporate—$16 500 000.

Note     See s 244 and s 245 for imputing conduct to a body corporate or the Territory.

    (2)     Strict liability only applies to subsection (1) (a) and (b).

Note     Subsection (2) displaces s 12A which states that strict liability applies to each physical element of each offence under this Act unless otherwise stated in the section containing the offence.

    (3)     An offence against this section is declared to be an indictable offence.

Note     An indictable offence is an offence punishable by imprisonment for longer than 2 years or an offence declared by an ACT law to be an indictable offence (see Legislation Act

, s 190 (1)).

    (4)     In this section:

"causes" death—a person's conduct causes death if the conduct substantially contributes to the death.

"health and safety duty "means a duty imposed under—

        (a)     division 2.2 (Primary duty of care); or

        (b)     division 2.3 (Further duties of persons conducting businesses or undertakings); or

        (c)     section 27 (Duty of officers).

34B     Alternative verdict for industrial manslaughter

    (1)     This section applies if, in a prosecution for an industrial manslaughter offence, the trier of fact—

        (a)     is not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant committed an industrial manslaughter offence; and

        (b)     is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant committed an alternative offence.

    (2)     The trier of fact may find the defendant guilty of the alternative offence, but only if the defendant has been given procedural fairness in relation to that finding of guilt.

    (3)     In this section:

"alternative offence", for an industrial manslaughter offence, means a category 1 offence or a category 2 offence.