The Queensland Government, led by the Miles administration, has proposed significant expansions to industrial manslaughter laws with the Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Qld). Introduced by the Minister for Industrial Relations, Grace Grace, the Bill follows recommendations from the 2022 Review.
Key amendments include extending the offence to cover persons who are not workers (e.g. bystanders) and introducing alternative penalties for serious offences. As a result, when a person is charged with Industrial Manslaughter, the court may alternatively convict the person of a Category 1 or Category 2 offence if that offence is established by the evidence. Additionally, if a person is charged with a Category 1 offence, they may be convicted of a category 2 offence. A summary of the alternative offence amendments is set out below:
