We have highlighted the changes to Work Health and Safety Laws in Western Australia for some time.  Penalties for breaches of WA’s work health and safety laws increased substantially, the WA State Government announced significant increases to fines and potential jail terms for businesses who commit safety offences. For instance, fines of up to $3.5 million for corporations and $680,000 and up to 5 years prison for individuals. 
 
With the increased penalties, it was unfortunately only a matter of time before the first custodial sentence would occur. The details are included in the following Government of Western Australia’s article; ‘First imprisonment under WA’s workplace safety and health laws‘ 

What you should do

You should take this opportunity to contact your broker and ensure you have the best insurance protection and work health safety procedures in place for your business. Our team can help you identify any potential risks, the new penalties highlight how important it is to maintain a safe workplace.

Talk to us about Management Liability Insurance, as this can protect you and your business against the legal costs related to work health & safety and occupational health & safety prosecutions. 

For better people performance, talk to the best people

Employment practices and health and safety compliance is crucial to the success of every business. We are partnered with an employment relations advisory service. As a Centrewest client you have access to a range of resources and expert employment relation and health and safety advice.