Victorian workplace safety penalties top $17 million in 2025

The penalties covered breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Dangerous Goods Act. They included a record $3 million fine following an appeal against the penalty for Victoria’s first workplace manslaughter conviction, three other seven-figure penalties and 29 outcomes exceeding $100,000.

Construction employers accounted for 64 health and safety prosecutions, followed by manufacturing employers with 30 and the transport, postal and warehousing sector with eight. Working-at-height offences resulted in outcomes against 52 employers, almost all in construction, totalling $3.74 million in fines, costs and undertakings. Mobile plant offences, including those involving forklifts and cranes, accounted for 26 successful outcomes, while unguarded machinery accounted for 17.

WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said the enforcement focus reflected where the most serious harm was expected. “Construction remains Victoria’s deadliest industry with 69 fatalities in the last five years, largely due to preventable falls from height, but we also continue to see significant workplace harm in both the manufacturing and transport sectors,” Mr Jenkin said. He said monitoring those industries helped WorkSafe identify known and emerging risks and take enforcement action before an incident occurred.

During 2025, WorkSafe prosecuted 35 duty holders following observed or reported safety issues. Mr Jenkin said the regulator would further improve its enforcement approach to reduce injuries and deaths in priority areas. “Not putting up guard rails for a quick roofing job or letting an apprentice work alone may seem like easy ways to save a bit of time or money, but the reality is you’re gambling with a person’s life.”

Seventeen of the year’s 137 successful prosecutions followed incidents in which a worker died. Other cases involved injuries including paraplegia, brain damage and amputation. Mr Jenkin said failures to manage workplace risks could have catastrophic physical and mental consequences, affecting injured workers, families, employers and co-workers.

Seven penalty appeals were finalised during the year as WorkSafe pursued stronger court penalties. Among them was the increase from $1.3 million to $3 million in the workplace manslaughter fine relating to a worker’s death at a Somerton factory in 2021.

WorkSafe also pursued workplace bullying and harassment matters, with four duty holders fined for failing to protect workers from psychological harm. Psychological health regulations introduced in December 2025 place a specific duty on Victorian employers to identify psychosocial hazards, take reasonable steps to eliminate or control the risks, and review controls. “In 2026, we will continue to seek penalties that reflect the seriousness of each offence,” Mr Jenkin said.

Enforcement forms part of WorkSafe’s constructive compliance strategy, which combines deterrents with positive motivators for duty holders. Court fines contribute to its operational budget, supporting free employer education and assistance through the OHS Essentials program, grants, industry pilots, funding agreements, resources, toolkits and events such as Health and Safety Month.

How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your business’s approach to workplace health and safety and identify areas that may need closer attention. Take the free WHS self-check