WA enacts Industrial Manslaughter scheme and harmonises its WHS laws with other State jurisdictions

Introduction Western Australia is continuing to reform its occupational health and safety (OH&S) laws across workplaces and mines through the introduction of a new wide-ranging legislative scheme. These changes are substantially based on the national model Work Health and Safety Bill and are designed to improve consistency with the rest of Australia. The Work Health and Safety Bill 2019, which received assent on 10 November 2020, will mark the conclusion of a long-running reform process driven by industry and public-interest, especially regarding industrial manslaughter in the wake of the 2016 Dreamworld fatality. The new Act will not come into force until the regulations are finalised, optimistically expected by July 2021. Broader changes Currently WA’s OH&S landscape is governed largely by the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (WA) (OSH Act). The OSH Act and the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994, and their corresponding regulations, will be subsumed by a…