Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, ss 47–49
Employers can be given significant criminal penalties for breaching the health and safety laws:
Breaching a duty – If an employer breaches a health and safety duty but no-one is exposed to any serious risk, they can be convicted and fined up to $100,000 if they’re an individual person, and up to $500,000 if they’re a company.
Creating a serious risk – If an employer breaches a health and safety duty and this exposes their workers or others to a risk of death, serious injury or serious illness, they can be fined up to $300,000 if they’re an individual, and up to up to $1.5 million if they’re a company.
Recklessly creating a serious risk – If an employer recklessly does something that exposes their workers or others to the risk of death, serious injury or serious illness, they may face a jail term. They can be jailed for up to five years or fined up to $600,000, or both, if they’re an individual. If the employer is a company, they can be fined up to $3 million.