Who must comply with Industrial manslaughter offence — Comcare scheme (WHS Act 2011 (Cth) s 30A)?

Since 1 July 2024, a Comcare-scheme PCBU or officer whose reckless or negligent breach causes a death commits industrial manslaughter.

From 1 July 2024, section 30A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) makes it an offence for a PCBU or an officer of a PCBU who has a health and safety duty to engage in conduct, with negligence or recklessness as to the risk of death, that breaches the duty and causes the death of an individual. It is an indictable offence with no limitation period, and a court cannot substitute imprisonment for the monetary penalty (s 30A(3)). It covers Comcare-scheme workplaces only — the Commonwealth, its authorities and self-insured licensees — not the general private workforce, which is covered by state and territory law.

Applies only if you are a Comcare self-insured licensee or a Commonwealth entity (Comcare scheme). Whether it applies turns on a fact that no industry, structure or size settles on its own.

How the regulator frames it: PCBUs and officers in the Comcare scheme (Commonwealth entities and self-insured licensees).

What triggers it: Being a Comcare-scheme PCBU or officer; engaged if a death results from a reckless or negligent breach of a WHS duty.

Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.

Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (35 of 35: only if a further fact applies).

The answer is the same in every industry: only if a further fact applies. Industry does not change who must comply.

Structure does not change the answer across all industries: for every structure the answer is "only if a further fact applies".

Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:

• Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires a trigger outside this questionnaire.
• Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 500+ employees, turnover $100M–$1B: check whether it applies. applies only if you are a Comcare self-insured licensee or a Commonwealth entity (Comcare scheme)

The engine shows this obligation as "check whether this applies" when a business has 500+ employees. It then applies only if you are a Comcare self-insured licensee or a Commonwealth entity (Comcare scheme). That fact is not something Rules Mate can infer from industry, structure or size.

When due

Continuous — the offence attaches to how duties are discharged every day, not to a filing.

Frequency

Ongoing

Evidence to keep

Officer due-diligence records (s 27(5)); critical-risk register with verified controls; incident investigations; board WHS reporting.

In force from

1 July 2024

Status

Current

Priority

High

Maximum penalty: Up to $18,000,000 for a body corporate (including the Commonwealth) or 25 years' imprisonment for an individual (Comcare prosecutions regulatory guide).

Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.

If this obligation applies to you, so does this one: the engine uses the same rule for each.

• PCBU primary duty of care — Comcare scheme (WHS Act 2011 (Cth) s 19)

• Asbestos management — workplace + dwelling rules (state): Asbestos work requires licensed asbestos removalist + asbestos management plan.
• Comply with the respirable crystalline silica workplace exposure limit (0.05 mg/m³): From 1 December 2026 the 0.05 mg/m³ silica standard becomes a legally binding workplace exposure limit (WEL).
• Hold a Construction Induction (White Card) before construction site work: All construction site workers must have completed nationally recognised induction training (CPCWHS1001).
• Maintain Hazardous Chemicals Register + manifest (WHS Reg): PCBUs handling hazardous chemicals must maintain a register + (above threshold) a manifest.
• Manage psychosocial hazards at work: WHS duty extends to psychosocial hazards — workload, bullying, harassment, role conflict.

Rules Mate tracks 28 published obligations tagged "whs", 23 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 16 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated high priority and carries criminal liability, and is an ongoing duty.

Regulated by Comcare.

Comcare: National regulator and workers' compensation insurer for Commonwealth employers and self-insured corporations.

• Comcare

Model WHS Act: Model federal WHS Act adopted (with variations) in NSW, Qld, SA, Tas, ACT, NT, Commonwealth (Comcare).

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (model)

Free tools that help with this obligation:

• Payday Super readiness
• Right to Disconnect policy
• WGEA readiness