WHS Category 1, 2 and 3 penalties by state — officer and body corporate compared

From 1 July 2024 NSW switched to a CPI-indexed penalty regime under the Work Health and Safety Amendment Act 2023. NSW penalties for Category 1, 2 and 3 offences and industrial manslaughter now index annually on 1 July. Other model-WHS-Act states still use the older fixed-dollar caps drawn from the original 2011 model legislation, which have lagged inflation. The same indexation mechanism applies to the Commonwealth WHS Act under Comcare's jurisdiction.

No. Victoria's Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 predates the model WHS Act framework and uses its own structure: a duty-of-care offence (ss 21-23), a reckless endangerment offence (s 32) and the workplace manslaughter offence (Part 5A). Section 32 is the closest analogue to Category 1 and carries 1,800 penalty units for an individual / 20,000 for a body corporate. WorkSafe Victoria still prosecutes serious incidents under these provisions rather than the Cat 1/2/3 scheme.

Comcare regulates workplaces of Commonwealth Government entities and a small number of self-insured corporations licensed under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. For those workplaces, the Commonwealth WHS Act 2011 applies instead of the state Act, and Comcare prosecutes Category 1, 2 and 3 offences. Commonwealth penalties are CPI-indexed annually from 1 July 2024 and are now among the highest in the country (Cat 1 body corporate $11,839,000 as at 1 July 2025).

No. WHS fines are penalties imposed by criminal courts and cannot be insured against in any Australian jurisdiction. Defence costs, civil claims and disciplinary proceedings can still be insured, but the fine itself must be paid by the convicted individual or corporation. Officers should be aware that director and officer insurance may cover legal defence costs but will not pay a fine, and contractual indemnities to pay an officer's fine are typically void as contrary to public policy.