The NSW government has been suffering from a lot of criticism over their work safety laws. They deserve the criticism because their laws have been the worst in Australia and possibly the worst in the developed world.
The main problem is that the laws deny people in NSW natural justice. There is a presumption of guilt instead of presumption of innocence. There is no right to trial before a jury and convicted people cannot appeal.
This legal set-up has created a stacked prosecution process. People in NSW have been convicted for work safety accidents when in other states the same accidents would not result in prosecution.
For example a NSW plumber was convicted after a hot water safety value failed. The plumber followed all the manufacturer's instructions. The accident happened after a microscopic hairline fracture inside the sealed valve, caused the valve to fail. Even though the evidence was that the plumber could not possibly have known of the problem he was convicted and lost his business.
These unjust laws have resulted in NSW having 64% of the nations OHS prosecutions with only 33% of the workforce. And NSW has no different injury rate to any other state.
To their credit however, the NSW government has recognised they have an unfair system. Just recently they announced proposals for a dramatic shift in the OHS act. They are removing presumption of guilt and aligning with the rest of the states.
People will be held accountable for what they control given what is reasonable and practical. For the first time NSW employees will be held accountable for their actions having parallel obligations to an employer.
These changes, along with others are positive first step improvements. But more change is needed if NSW work safety laws are to achieve full community confidence and total focus on work safety.
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