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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Serial 103
Work
Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Amendment
Bill 2019
Ms
Fyles
A Bill to amend the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 regarding industrial manslaughter
NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA
WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY (NATIONAL UNIFORM LEGISLATION) AMENDMENT ACT 2019
____________________
Act No. [ ] of 2019
____________________
Table of provisions
Division 6 Industrial manslaughter
34A Meaning of alternative offence
34B Industrial manslaughter
34C Provisions not applicable to industrial manslaughter
34D Consent to prosecution
34E Verdict for alternative offence
34F Limitation
period for
prosecution
231 Request
for prosecution
231A Referral
to Director of Public Prosecutions
NORTHERN
TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA
____________________
Act No. [ ] of 2019
____________________
An Act to amend the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 regarding industrial manslaughter
[Assented to [ ] 2019]
[Introduced [ ] 2019]
The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory enacts as follows:
This Act may be cited as the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Amendment Act 2019.
This Act commences on the day fixed by the Administrator by Gazette notice.
This Act amends the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011.
4 Section 4 amended (Definitions)
(1) Section 4, definition health and safety duty
omit
(2) Section 4
insert
health and safety duty means a duty imposed under Part 2, Division 2, 3 or 4.
industrial manslaughter means the offence of industrial manslaughter under section 34B.
5 Section 30 repealed (Meaning of health and safety duty)
Section 30
repeal
After section 34
insert
Division 6 Industrial manslaughter
34A Meaning of alternative offence
In this Division:
alternative offence means an offence against section 31 or 32.
(1) A person commits the offence of industrial manslaughter if:
(a) the person has a health and safety duty; and
(b) the person intentionally engages in conduct; and
(c) the conduct breaches the health and safety duty and causes the death of an individual to whom the health and safety duty is owed; and
(d) the person is reckless or negligent about the conduct breaching the health and safety duty and causing the death of that individual.
Maximum penalty:
(a) for an individual – imprisonment for life; or
(b) for a body corporate – 65 000 penalty units.
(2) Strict liability applies to subsection (1)(a).
(3) A volunteer does not commit industrial manslaughter for a failure to comply with a health and safety duty, unless the duty is under section 28 or 29.
Note for subsection (3)
The defendant has an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (3) (see section 43BU of the Criminal Code).
34C Provisions not applicable to industrial manslaughter
The following provisions do not apply in relation to industrial manslaughter:
(a) section 12B;
(b) Part 11;
(c) section 239.
The regulator may bring proceedings for industrial manslaughter only with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
34E Verdict for alternative offence
(1) In a proceeding against a person charged with industrial manslaughter, the trier of fact may find the person guilty of an alternative offence if the trier of fact:
(a) is not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the person is guilty of industrial manslaughter; and
(b) is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the person committed the alternative offence.
(2) To avoid doubt, section 316 of the Criminal Code does not apply in respect of industrial manslaughter.
34F Limitation period for prosecution
(1) Despite section 232, the limitation periods in that section do not apply in respect of industrial manslaughter.
(2) To avoid doubt, the limitation periods in section 232 do prevent a guilty verdict for an alternative offence if the proceeding for industrial manslaughter was not commenced within the applicable limitation period in that section.
7 Section 216 amended (Regulator may accept undertakings)
Section 216(2), at the end
insert
Note for subsection (2)
Section 34C(b) prevents a WHS undertaking from being accepted in respect of industrial manslaughter.
Section 231
repeal, insert
(1) Subject to this section, a person may request the regulator to bring a prosecution if:
(a) the person reasonably believes that the occurrence of an act, matter or thing constitutes:
(i) a Category 1 offence; or
(ii) a Category 2 offence; or
(iii) industrial manslaughter; and
(b) no prosecution for the offence has been brought within 6 months of the occurrence.
(2) No request may be made more than 12 months after the occurrence of the act, matter or thing.
(3) The request must be in writing and specify:
(a) the particulars of the occurrence of the act, matter or thing; and
(b) the grounds for the belief that the offence occurred.
(4) A request under this section may include the prosecution of more than one offence if the offences all relate to the same occurrence of the act, matter or thing.
(5) Within 3 months after receiving the request, the regulator must give written notice of the request to the following:
(a) the person who made the request;
(b) any person alleged to have been responsible for the occurrence of the act, matter or thing.
(6) The notice must include particulars of the following:
(a) the status of any investigation into the occurrence of the act, matter or thing;
(b) the status of any prosecution in relation to the occurrence;
(c) if no investigation is being conducted or if no prosecution is being brought – the reasons why not.
(7) The regulator may publish the information referred to in subsection (6) on the regulator's website.
(8) The regulator need not give the notice under subsection (5) if the request relates to an occurrence about which information is published on the regulator's website.
(9) The regulator must not state, to any person referred to in subsection (5), a view that is contrary to the views of the Director of Public Prosecutions on the merits of a prosecution in relation to the occurrence.
(10) In this section a reference to the occurrence of an act, matter or thing includes a reference to a failure in relation to an act, matter or thing.
231A Referral to Director of Public Prosecutions
(1) The regulator may seek the views of the Director of Public Prosecutions on the merits of a prosecution if:
(a) the regulator receives a request under section 231 in relation to the occurrence of a death; or
(b) the regulator reasonably believes that a death constitutes industrial manslaughter.
(2) If the regulator seeks the views of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the regulator must give the Director of Public Prosecutions:
(a) a copy of any request received by the regulator in relation to the matter; and
(b) a copy of any information and evidence the regulator may have relevant to the request.
(3) Within 25 business days after receiving the material under subsection (2), the Director of Public Prosecutions must give the regulator the Director's views on the merits of a prosecution in relation to the occurrence and whether it consents to a prosecution for industrial manslaughter.
This Act is repealed on the day after it commences.
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