WHS prosecutions: new data now available

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Safe Work Australia has updated the WHS prosecutions dashboard to reflect the latest publicly available data from 2024. We have also enhanced the dashboard functionality by adding the ability to filter the data by industry.

The new data is available to explore on our interactive data website, Our Data. Your Stories.

The prosecutions dashboard provides national information on criminal prosecutions for breaching WHS laws or regulations since 1 January 2020. Developed in response to the 2018 Senate inquiry report They never came home – the framework surrounding the prevention, investigation and prosecution of industrial deaths in Australia, the prosecutions data can help inform decision-making to improve WHS outcomes.

Key findings and insights from the 2024 WHS prosecutions dashboard include:

• 317 prosecutions were recorded, reflecting a continued yearly increase.

• The top 3 industries involved in WHS prosecutions cases were:

• Construction (47%)

• Manufacturing (21%), and

• Transport, postal & warehousing (5%).

• 16% of prosecutions cases involved a fatal injury and 49% involved a serious injury.

• 97% of prosecutions cases resulted in a financial penalty.

• The average financial penalty per case decreased since 2023, averaging $116,979 compared to $138,724 in 2023.

Future updates to the WHS prosecutions data dashboard will be released annually.

Explore the WHS prosecutions data and our other WHS dashboards at our data website

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Sources:

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WHS prosecutions: new data now available - Safe Work Australia, July 2025