Victoria now has the highest maximum work health and safety fine in the country, with a Bill amending the State's OHS and workers' comp laws passing the Upper House last night.
The Victorian Opposition has declared its support for the Bill that more than doubles the State's maximum OHS fine, making it higher than the maximum penalty in the harmonised jurisdictions.
The maximum OHS fine in Victoria will more than double - to become higher than the maximum $3 million fine in the harmonised states - under a Government Bill introduced to Parliament yesterday.
Five Victorian employers have been fined for exclusion zone breaches and other safety failures, while a man has been convicted of workers' comp fraud. In Queensland, a company has been fined just $15,000 for a guarding breach, despite being prosecuted for similar offences twice before.
The workers' compensation schemes in five jurisdictions will be amended, and employer premiums increased, under one of the Federal Government's preferred options for ensuring catastrophically injured workers are supported for life.
Victoria's new Labor Government will review the State OHS Act and the WorkCover Authority's enforcement policies, while the Federal Government's Comcare Bill will face a hostile Senate after passing through the Lower House.
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