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The Australian Council for Trade Unions (ACTU) has recently highlighted the staggering amount of workplace deaths that are occurring across Australia in hopes of reinforcing the need for strengthened health and safety protocols.
So far, in 2025, thirty-two Australian workers have lost their lives while at work. In 2024, a total of 168 Australian workers died on the job – just under the five-year average of 191 workers who have been killed each year at work nationwide.
With yesterday (28 April) marking International Workers’ Memorial Day, the ACTU sought to highlight some of the improvements made towards workplace health and safety, however, noting that more work needs to be done.
ACTU assistant secretary Liam O’Brien said: “Australian Unions remember those who were tragically killed at work and reflect on the importance of protecting the health and safety of all workers.
“Preventing workplace tragedies means defending the laws that provide justice for victims and their families and corporate accountability for employers who fail in their duty to workers.”
Back in 2024, the Albanese government introduced legislation that employers who were found to have recklessly or negligently caused the death of a worker would now face potential criminal liability and up to 25 years imprisonment, as well as extreme fines.
As previously reported by HR Leader, employers LH Holding Management were one of the first employers to be convicted and fined $1.3 million in relation to the death of a worker who was sadly fatally crushed at a Somerton factory.
The Victorian Supreme Court, however, decided to elevate the fine to $3 million after an appeal was undertaken.
Speaking on manslaughter laws as a whole, NSW Minister for Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis said: “No government should ever want to have to use these laws. Any workplace death is a tragedy, and in cases where a person with a work health and safety duty has been careless or irresponsible, they must be held accountable.”
“The offence of industrial manslaughter will apply to the worst of the worst cases where gross negligence has caused the death of a person in a workplace.”
With the federal election result edging ever closer, O’Brien called on the Coalition – which previously voted against the legislation – to reaffirm their stance.
“As we approach a year since the laws came into effect, working people deserve clarity on whether the Coalition would support stronger industrial manslaughter laws beyond the election,” said O’Brien.
SA Unions secretary Dale Beasley said: “Coming home from work safely isn’t just a priority; it’s a right.”
“Secure jobs save lives. You’re not going to speak up about unsafe work if you’re scared of getting sacked. All the laws and regulations on the books mean nothing if you’re too vulnerable to use them.
“Even one worker’s death is a tragedy, this many worker deaths is a choice. There is so much more work to be done. No worker can afford to risk losing any of their workplace rights.”
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
