The SA Government is proposing to extend existing civil penalty provisions in the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA) (WHS Act) to cover the primary duty of care and related offences, and to confer standing to bring civil penalty applications on workers, families of injured workers, and employee associations. This follows the Government’s election commitment to conduct an independent review of the WHS Act, which was completed and reported back in December 2022.

The Government sought feedback by 10 November 2023 from key stakeholders on its proposed civil dispute resolution model. Ai Group is committed to the integrity of the harmonised approach to WHS laws across Australia. However, we provided feedback to the Government through a submission to the Attorney General on behalf of Ai Group members which focused on whether the proposed changes improve WHS outcomes for businesses and workers.