Victorian employers who ignore their health and safety obligations continue to face serious legal and financial consequences, with WorkSafe completing 137 prosecutions and enforceable undertakings last year. Victorian employers who ignore their health and safety obligations continue to face serious legal and financial consequences, with WorkSafe completing 137 prosecutions and enforceable undertakings last year.
The total of $17,391,325 in fines, costs and undertakings for breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Dangerous Goods Act included the fine for the state’s first workplace manslaughter conviction being increased to a record $3 million on appeal, as well as three other seven-figure penalties and 29 outcomes worth more than $100,000.
The largest portion of health and safety prosecutions were against employers in construction (64), followed by manufacturing (30), and transport, postal and warehousing (8).
Offences involving working at height accounted for the highest number of outcomes, with 52 employers – almost exclusively from the construction industry – copping a total of $3.74 million in fines, costs and undertakings.
Breaches involving mobile plant, such as forklifts and cranes, were the second most common offence type, accounting for 26 successful results, followed by unguarded machinery with 17.
WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said the focus reflected where the most harm serious harm was expected to occur.
“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.
“By keeping a close eye on these industries, we’re able to identify both known and emerging risks and take strong enforcement action, even in cases where an incident has not yet occurred.”
In 2025, WorkSafe prosecuted 35 duty holders over observed or reported safety issues.
Mr Jenkin said WorkSafe will work to further improve its enforcement approach to help drive down the number of injuries and deaths in key priority areas.
“We want to ensure we’re using the most appropriate tools to influence behaviour change when it comes to common offences, such as those involving working at height,” he said.
“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.”
Of the 137 successful prosecutions in 2025, 17 tragically arose from incidents where a worker had died. Other matters involved life changing injuries such as paraplegia, brain damage and amputation.
Mr Jenkin said these matters highlighted what was at stake when safety was not at the forefront.
“When employers fail to manage risks in their workplaces, the consequences can be catastrophic – both physically and mentally,” Mr Jenkin said.
“Through our work, we see this reality. We see the pain and heartbreak family members endure when their loved one is killed, the guilt and regret that often consumes employers and even co-workers after a tragedy, and the ongoing suffering of workers whose lives are forever changed after a serious injury.”
Throughout the year, WorkSafe fought for stronger penalties through the courts, with seven appeals finalised – including the original $1.3 million workplace manslaughter fine over the death of a worker at a Somerton factory in 2021 being more than doubled to $3 million.
WorkSafe also took action against workplace bullying and harassment, with four duty holders fined for failing to protect workers from psychological harm.
Under new psychological health regulations that came into effect in December 2025, Victorian employers now have a specific duty to identify psychosocial hazards, take reasonable steps to eliminate or control the associated risks, and review risk controls.
“In 2026, we will continue to seek penalties that reflect the seriousness of each offence,” Mr Jenkin said. “There is absolutely no excuse for failing to keep workers safe.”
Enforcement activity is a key part of WorkSafe’s constructive compliance strategy – which balances deterrents and positive motivators for duty holders.
Fines issued by the courts contribute to WorkSafe’s operational budget, funding free education and support to assist Victorian employers improve health and safety outcomes through initiatives such as the OHS Essentials program, grants and industry pilots, funding agreements, resources and toolkits, and events including WorkSafe’s annual Health and Safety Month.
Major WorkSafe enforcement outcomes in 2025
Prosecutions:
- LH Holding Management Pty Ltd was convicted and fined $3 million on appeal following the death of a worker who was fatally crushed by a forklift at a Somerton factory in October 2021.
- Onkar Group Pty Ltd and its director were convicted and fined a total of $1.43 million after a fatigued delivery driver fatally crashed in his vehicle in Shepparton in August 2022.
- Nordic Elevators Pty Ltd and Nordic Elevator Services Pty Ltd were convicted and fined a total of $930,000 after an apprentice electrician died while working alone in an elevator in West Melbourne in March 2021.
- Enforceable Undertakings:
- J Hutchinson Pty Ltd agreed to spend $1,040,366 to improve health and safety outcomes after a 700 kilogram switchboard landed on a young man’s head and torso in Rosebud in August 2022, leaving with him life-threatening injuries.
- Laing O’Rouke Australia Construction Pty Ltd agreed to spend $929,500 to improve health and safety outcomes after it conducted high-risk silica work on Melbourne’s rail network without appropriate control measures in January 2023.
Source: WorkSafe Vic
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