Sentencing Advisory Council Recommends Major Changes to Sentencing of Workplace Safety Offences
The Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council has today released a landmark report recommending major reforms to how workplace safety offences are sentenced in Victoria.
This is the first comprehensive review of sentencing under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) since the legislation was introduced 20 years ago.
After extensive research and stakeholder consultations, the Council has found that current sentencing practices do not always achieve justice for victims or act as an effective deterrent—particularly in cases involving large corporations.
A key recommendation from the Sentencing Advisory Council’s report is the need to expand opportunities for victims to participate in sentencing, including broadening access to victim impact statements and legislating a restorative justice framework. This recommendation reflects broader efforts to increase access to justice and provide victims with a meaningful voice in legal processes—an effort the Centre continues to actively drive forward.
CIJ made a submission to Council highlighting the potential for restorative justice conferences in OHS cases. The submission drew on our research for WorkSafe on victims’ experiences of the enforcement process. The proposed restorative justice framework in this latest report reflects those concerns, offering victims a structured opportunity to seek accountability, share their experiences, and actively participate in a justice process that centres their needs.
The report outlines a total 12 key reforms, also including:
- Increasing penalties—a fivefold increase in maximum fines for companies and individuals breaching OHS duties
- Encouraging alternative sentencing measures, such as health and safety undertakings (binding conditions on companies) and adverse publicity orders (publicising offences to deter future breaches)
- Ensuring penalties are enforced, including making company directors personally liable in appropriate cases and holding successor companies responsible for unpaid fines
- Introducing a legislated sentencing guideline, ensuring consistent, fair, and effective sentencing
Launching the report on behalf of the Sentencing Advisory Council alongside CEO Dr Paul McGorrery and Senior Legal Policy officer Octavian Simu, CIJ’s Associate Director and Sentencing Advisory Council Director Stan Winford emphasised the importance of these reforms: “The inescapable conclusion from the Council’s work is that the current approach to sentencing for workplace safety breaches needs to change. These reforms will not only hold employers accountable but also encourage better safety practices across all Victorian workplaces.”
You can read the full report here: https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-02/sentencing_ohs_offences_report_and_recommendations.pdf
For more information head to the Sentencing Advisory Council website, or read the official media release here: https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/sentencing-advisory-council-recommends-major-changes-to-sentencing-of-workplace-safety-offences
CIJ’s submission to the Sentencing Advisory Council’s review can be found here: https://cij.org.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/submission-to-sa_sentencing-ohs-offences.pdf
Published 27 February 2025