Quick answer: WHS penalties can apply to companies and individuals, but there is no single Australia-wide penalty schedule. The applicable maximum depends on the governing Commonwealth, state or territory law, the offence and the duty holder.
Last reviewed: August 2026 by the BlueSafe Technical Team. This Australia-wide overview identifies the Commonwealth figures separately from model-law and state or territory penalty settings.
When people search for WHS fines, they are usually trying to understand the cost of getting it wrong. The legal answer is straightforward: the most serious breaches can lead to multimillion-dollar corporate fines and personal criminal liability for officers.
What are the three categories of WHS offences?
The model WHS Act uses three offence categories. The categories are based on the seriousness of the conduct and the level of risk created.
| Category | What must be shown | Typical conduct |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 | Reckless conduct or gross negligence creating risk of death or serious injury | Deliberately ignoring a known high-risk hazard |
| Category 2 | Failure to comply with a duty that exposes someone to risk | Poor planning, supervision, or controls |
| Category 3 | Failure to comply with a duty | Administrative non-compliance or missing safety steps |
The practical difference is not just legal language. Category 1 is for the most serious conduct, Category 2 is the common serious breach, and Category 3 captures failures that still matter even if the risk exposure is not the main issue.
Commonwealth 2026–27 indexed maximum penalties (F2026N00550)
The following is the Commonwealth 2026–27 indexed maximum penalty table. It is sourced to the authorised Work Health and Safety (Public Notification of Indexed Penalty Amounts) Notifiable Instrument 2026 (F2026N00550). These are not universal Australian maximums and they are not a model-law penalty table.
| Category | Individual as PCBU or officer | Other individual | Body corporate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 1 | $3,546,000 | $1,773,000 | $17,728,000 |
| Category 2 | $494,000 | $247,000 | $2,470,000 |
| Category 3 | $165,000 | $83,000 | $827,000 |
The instrument commenced on 27 July 2026, while the indexed amounts apply for the annual period beginning 1 July 2026. It self-repeals at the start of 1 July 2027. Although the annual increase was described as 4%, the authorised instrument table controls each exact amount; the figures should not be recalculated from the headline percentage alone.
Each state and territory has its own enacted legislation and penalty settings. Most use laws based on the model WHS framework, with local amendments. Victoria instead operates under its Occupational Health and Safety framework. Check the current law for the jurisdiction that applies to the work.
Category 1 - reckless conduct
Category 1 is the most serious offence. It applies where a person, without reasonable excuse, engages in conduct that exposes an individual to a risk of death or serious injury or illness and does so with gross negligence or recklessness.
Examples can include:
- forcing workers into an uncontrolled high-risk task with no controls
- ignoring a known collapse, electrocution, or fall hazard
- failing to stop work after being warned that the activity is unsafe
The Commonwealth monetary maximums for this category are shown in the F2026N00550 table above. Other consequences, including any imprisonment exposure, depend on the applicable offence provision and jurisdiction and must be checked in that law.
Imprisonment is what makes Category 1 fundamentally different from a simple fine. The law treats this as criminal conduct, not just a paperwork failure.
Category 2 - failure to comply with a duty exposing risk
Category 2 is the most common prosecution category. It does not require recklessness. It only requires a breach of a WHS duty that exposed someone to a risk of death or serious injury or illness.
Typical examples include:
- no adequate risk assessment before high-risk work starts
- weak supervision of contractors or labour hire workers
- poor plant maintenance or missing guarding
- a system that exists on paper but not on site
The Commonwealth monetary maximums for this category are shown in the F2026N00550 table above. State and territory amounts can differ.
Category 2 often follows incidents where the business had enough information to act, but failed to implement the controls properly.
Category 3 - failure to comply with a duty
Category 3 is the lowest offence category, but it is still a real breach. It applies where a duty has not been complied with, even if the regulator does not need to prove the risk exposure element.
Common examples include:
- failing to keep required WHS records
- missing consultation steps
- not maintaining required safety documentation
- not following a regulation-specific process
The Commonwealth monetary maximums for this category are shown in the F2026N00550 table above. State and territory amounts can differ.
Category 3 is often treated as administrative, but the penalties are still high enough to matter for any business.
What are penalty notices and on-the-spot fines?
Regulators can issue infringement notices or similar penalty notices for some breaches, depending on the jurisdiction. These are not the same as a court prosecution, but they can still be expensive and can signal deeper compliance problems.
| Enforcement tool | What it does | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Improvement notice | Requires a risk or breach to be fixed by a deadline | Shows the regulator has identified a problem |
| Prohibition notice | Stops high-risk work immediately | Often issued where the danger is serious and immediate |
| Infringement or penalty notice | Imposes an on-the-spot financial penalty | Can happen without a court proceeding |
The important point is that a business should not assume a penalty notice is minor. It is often the first sign that a larger prosecution risk exists.
How are WHS penalties calculated?
Courts do not just look at the incident. They usually look at the broader conduct of the business and its leaders.
Aggravating factors include:
- prior history of non-compliance
- ignoring warnings or improvement notices
- deliberate cost-cutting at the expense of safety
- poor cooperation during the investigation
Mitigating factors include:
- early cooperation with the regulator
- quick remediation and worker protection
- a clean compliance history
- evidence that the business has fixed the root cause
That means two businesses can have similar incidents but different outcomes because one acted early and the other did not.
How do you protect your business?
The best defence is a documented safety system that actually works. That includes:
- risk assessments before work starts
- SWMS or equivalent work procedures where required
- consultation and worker sign-off
- training and supervision records
- maintenance and inspection records
If the business can show that it knew the risk, assessed it, controlled it, and checked the controls were working, it is in a much stronger position than a business that only has policies sitting in a folder.
State and territory variations
The offence categories are part of the model WHS framework, but model provisions do not themselves create one national penalty schedule. The Commonwealth, states and territories enact and amend their own legislation.
| Jurisdiction | Regulator | Key notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth | Comcare | Commonwealth WHS Act; the F2026N00550 table above applies for 2026–27 |
| NSW | SafeWork NSW | Model-based WHS framework with NSW-specific legislation and penalties |
| VIC | WorkSafe Victoria | Uses the OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations, not the model WHS Act |
| QLD | Workplace Health and Safety Queensland | Model-based WHS framework with Queensland-specific legislation and penalties |
| SA | SafeWork SA | Model-based WHS framework with South Australian legislation and penalties |
| WA | WorkSafe Western Australia | Model-based WHS framework with Western Australian legislation and penalties |
| TAS | WorkSafe Tasmania | Model-based WHS framework with Tasmanian legislation and penalties |
| ACT | WorkSafe ACT | Model-based WHS framework with ACT legislation and penalties |
| NT | NT WorkSafe | Model-based WHS framework with Northern Territory legislation and penalties |
Always check the current legislation and regulator guidance in your jurisdiction, because penalty amounts and enforcement tools can differ.
Related guides
- WHS Due Diligence for Officers and Directors
- Workplace Incident Investigation Guide
- Improvement Notice and Prohibition Notice Guide
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum WHS fine in Australia?
There is no single universal maximum. For the Commonwealth regime, F2026N00550 sets the 2026–27 Category 1 maximums at $17,728,000 for a body corporate, $3,546,000 for an individual as a PCBU or officer, and $1,773,000 for another individual. State and territory maximums must be checked under their own legislation.
What are the three categories of WHS offences?
Category 1 is reckless conduct, Category 2 is a duty breach exposing risk, and Category 3 is a duty breach without the risk exposure element needing to be proven.
Can a director be fined personally for WHS breaches?
Yes. Officers can be prosecuted and fined personally, and serious conduct can also lead to imprisonment.
What triggers a WHS prosecution in Australia?
Serious incidents, repeated non-compliance, and evidence that a business ignored clear risks can all trigger prosecution.
Get the right documents for your business
The fastest way to reduce penalty exposure is to have the right documents in place before something goes wrong. BlueSafe's management systems and SWMS templates help you show that risks were identified, controlled, and reviewed.