The industrial manslaughter provisions of the Work Health and Safety Act (WHS Act) 2011 have been applied for the first time in the recent sentencing of a case in the Queensland District Court.

On 11 June 2020, in the case of The Queen V Brisbane Auto Recycling Pty Ltd and Hussaini and Karimi, the company and two directors were found guilty of industrial manslaughter after an employee was fatally struck by a forklift being driven by another employee.

The company’s directors, Mr Hussaini and Mr Karimi, had hands-on supervision of the work activities at the workplace and were both sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, wholly suspended for a period of 20 months.

During sentencing, it was found that the company had no written workplace health and safety policies in place and Mr Hussaini had instead verbally advised employees to look after their own health.

The sentencing serves as a warning to all employers in the automotive industry that they must protect workers’ and other persons’ health, safety and welfare through the elimination or minimisation of risks at the workplace.

This means that there are a number of steps employers should take to comply with the WHS Act and other legislation containing the offence of industrial manslaughter such as:

• review your work health and safety policies and ensure they are documented;
• ensure that all new workers are familiarised with such policies at the time of induction;
• ensure that all workers have formal training and refresher courses regularly;
• undertake and document regular reviews of workplace practices to identify risks to workers’ safety and implement remedial action and risk minimisation;
• ensure all workers have the correct clothing and PPE;
• ensure all workers are properly trained in the use of the equipment needed for their tasks;
• keep written records of all points above; and
• instil a culture of safety first at all levels of operation from senior management to workers.

The WHS Act provides the maximum penalty for industrial manslaughter committed by an employer is $10 million and ‘reckless conduct by an individual that has a health and safety duty’ can result in a maximum fine of $600,000 or 5 years imprisonment.

Source: Bennett & Philp Lawyers | Queensland’s First Industrial Manslaughter Conviction

24 June 2020