Jamie Ling

On 15 November 2024, the South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET) fined JMA Engineering Pty Ltd (JMA Engineering) a staggering $840,000 for a Category 1 offence against section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (the Act). The fine is a record amount for an offence under the South Australian work health and safety legislation and is the first ever work health and safety prosecution in South Australia where a defendant has been convicted of a Category 1 offence for 'reckless conduct'.

Road transport contractors who have been performing work for a road transport business in the road transport industry for at least 6 months may be protected from 'unfair termination' pursuant to recent changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) (see Part 1.2 Division 3A and Part 3A.3 of the Act). A road transport contractor is a person who performs all or most of the work under a services contract with a road transport business in the road transport industry.

On 7 December 2023, the Work Health and Safety (Industrial Manslaughter) Amendment Act 2023 (SA) (amending Act) received royal assent. The amending Act amends the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA) (Act) to incorporate industrial manslaughter offences. It brings South Australia's work health and safety laws in line with the majority of states and territories across Australia that have already introduced a specific offence of industrial manslaughter.