NSW industrial relations minister John Della Bosca said the bill would be withdrawn after consultation with union and employer industry groups. He said the draft bill did not satisfy some of the tests the Government set and would not be introduced in its current form.
The draft bill was released by the Government for public comment in 2004. It sought to create a new criminal offence in cases of a fatality at a workplace, doubling monetary penalties and more than doubling potential jail terms for individuals and corporations in such an instance.
The NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) would be able to issue fines of up to $1.65 million and jail individuals for up to five years.
But the bill limited appeal rights to the Court of Criminal Appeal despite the criminal nature of the offence under the draft bill.
The retreat is thought to be linked with recent IRC convictions relating to the 1996 Gretley mine disaster. Two companies and three employees were found guilty of breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (1983) and were fined $1.5 million last month. These convictions are being challenged.
An industrial relations lawyer involved with lobbying the Government on the bill said managers of mining companies supported investigations in the case of a fatality occurring but they were concerned about erosion of their rights under the draft bill.
He added the success rate of prosecutions launched by WorkCover was over 90% and that Australia had some of the strictest laws in the world in relation to occupational health and safety.
WorkCover administers and enforces compliance with occupational health and safety, injury management and workers compensation legislation, and manages the workers compensation system.
