PCBU Primary Duty of Care in Tasmania

What it is

Tasmania adopted the model Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (Tas) with commencement in 2013. Every person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty of care under section 19. WorkSafe Tasmania administers the framework.

Tasmania was one of the last states to enact industrial manslaughter as a specific offence, commencing 2 October 2024. Before that date, workplace deaths were prosecuted under general category 1 offences.

Section 19 primary duty

Section 19 of the WHS Act 2012 (Tas) requires a PCBU to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and other persons who could be exposed to risks arising from the work. The Tasmanian framework aligns with NSW, QLD, SA, ACT and NT under the model WHS Act.

Section 18 reasonably practicable

Section 18 defines reasonably practicable using the standard five-factor test: likelihood, degree of harm, knowledge of the hazard, availability and suitability of controls plus cost weighed against the risk.

Officer accountability

Section 27 imposes personal due diligence duties on officers. Tasmania has fewer prosecutions than larger jurisdictions but the same statutory framework applies. Directors of Tasmanian building companies carry the same personal exposure as directors elsewhere.

Industrial manslaughter (section 34C)

Tasmania enacted industrial manslaughter as a specific offence under section 34C of the WHS Act 2012 (Tas), commencing 2 October 2024. The offence applies where a PCBU or senior officer engages in conduct that constitutes a failure to comply with a health and safety duty and that conduct causes the death of a person.

Penalties: individual up to 21 years imprisonment. Body corporate up to $18 million. Tasmania is aligned with SA on the $18 million body corporate maximum.

Category offences

Category 1 (section 31) up to $300,000 or 5 years imprisonment individual / $3,000,000 body corporate. Category 2 (section 32) up to $150,000 individual / $1,500,000 body corporate. Category 3 (section 33) up to $50,000 individual / $500,000 body corporate.

Tasmania penalty amounts are set in dollar figures. The 2024 amendments introducing industrial manslaughter also increased category offence penalties to align with NSW and QLD scales.

The 2 October 2024 commencement

The 2 October 2024 commencement of Tasmanian industrial manslaughter was the culmination of a review process that began in the late 2010s. Tasmania's framework is closely modelled on the Queensland offence rather than the Victorian workplace manslaughter offence.

TradeForm TAS templates flag the industrial manslaughter offence as commencing 2 October 2024 for post-commencement conduct only. Conduct before that date is prosecuted under general category 1 offences.

Construction industry focus

WorkSafe Tasmania administers WHS Act compliance for the state's building industry. The absence of compulsory home warranty insurance in Tasmania places additional weight on the WHS framework as a consumer protection mechanism, particularly for workmanship complaints that involve safety concerns.

Interaction with building framework

WHS Act breaches by a Tasmanian builder can trigger Building Practitioners Board disciplinary action alongside WorkSafe Tasmania enforcement. That parallel enforcement approach is more common in Tasmania than in some larger states.

How Tasmania compares

Tasmania's section 19 duty aligns with NSW, QLD, SA, WA, ACT and NT (all model WHS jurisdictions). The distinctive Tasmanian features are the recent October 2024 industrial manslaughter commencement, the $18 million body corporate maximum penalty (aligned with SA), and the interaction with the Building Practitioners Board framework.