Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill updates Queensland's electrical safety and workplace safety laws across several areas. It modernises the electrical safety framework to cover emerging technologies like e-scooters and battery storage systems, strengthens the industrial manslaughter offence to protect bystanders as well as workers, adds negligence as a basis for prosecuting the most serious safety breaches, and gives worker representatives new powers to document workplace hazards with photos and testing equipment.
Who it affects
Electrical workers, businesses, worker safety representatives, users of e-scooters and similar devices, registered training organisations, and families affected by workplace fatalities are all directly impacted by these changes.
Electrical safety for new technologies
The bill updates the Electrical Safety Act 2002 to cover extra low voltage devices like e-scooters, e-bikes, electric skateboards and battery storage systems. These can now be regulated, subject to safety duties across the supply chain, and recalled by the Minister if they pose electrical risks to people or property.
- New category of 'prescribed electrical equipment' allows regulation of extra low voltage devices that pose electrical risks
- Battery storage and energy generation systems clearly captured as electrical installations requiring licensed work
- E-scooters, e-bikes and electric skateboards can be subject to product recalls and supply chain safety duties
- Replacing a similar appliance (e.g. a stove with matching electrical ratings) clarified as not restricted to electrical mechanics
Industrial manslaughter and serious safety offences
The industrial manslaughter offence is expanded to cover the death of any person owed a safety duty, including members of the public, not just workers. Courts can now return alternative verdicts if the full offence is not proven. Negligence is added as a fault element for Category 1 safety offences.
- Industrial manslaughter now covers deaths of bystanders and members of the public near workplaces, not just workers
- Multiple parties in a contractual chain can be charged with industrial manslaughter
- If industrial manslaughter cannot be proven, courts can convict on Category 1 or Category 2 offences instead of acquitting
- Negligence (not just recklessness) can now ground Category 1 prosecutions — the most serious safety offence short of industrial manslaughter
- Maximum penalties unchanged: 20 years imprisonment for individuals, $10 million for corporations
Worker representative powers
Health and safety representatives and union entry permit holders can now take photos, videos, measurements and conduct tests when investigating workplace hazards or suspected safety breaches. Privacy safeguards limit who can be photographed and prohibit live streaming.
- Health and safety representatives can photograph and video record hazards in their work group's area
- Entry permit holders can take photos, videos and use testing equipment like noise meters directly relevant to suspected breaches
- Live streaming of photos or videos is prohibited
- These powers commenced on 1 January 2025
Electrical licensing and training quality
The Electrical Licensing Committee gains more proportionate disciplinary options, and the Work Health and Safety Regulator gains power to regulate the quality of high-risk work training delivered by registered training organisations.
- Licence conditions can be imposed as disciplinary action without suspending the licence
- Licence holders can apply to have disciplinary conditions changed or removed
- The WHS Regulator can set and enforce minimum training standards for RTOs delivering high-risk work training
- The WHS Prosecutor formally takes over prosecution functions under the Electrical Safety Act
Bill Story
The journey of this bill through Parliament, including debate and recorded votes.
▸Committee22 May 2024View Hansard
Referred to Housing, Big Build and Manufacturing Committee
▸11 members spoke5 support6 mixed
Supported the bill's objectives on electrical safety reforms but opposed clauses allowing health and safety representatives and entry permit holders to take photos and videos at workplaces, citing concerns about CFMEU misuse on construction sites.
“Given the history of the CFMEU using bullying and intimidation tactics, the broadening of this power is concerning and something we need to think about carefully.”— 2024-08-22View Hansard
As Minister, introduced the bill implementing recommendations from safety reviews, expanding industrial manslaughter scope to include deaths of bystanders, adding negligence to category 1 offences, and empowering health and safety representatives to take photos and videos.
“This bill reflects a fundamental commitment of the Miles government—the pursuit of the continuous improvement of our safety laws.”— 2024-08-21View Hansard
Stated the LNP will always support improvements to workplace health and safety but expressed concerns about union-related provisions, particularly the expansion of entry permit holder powers.
“The LNP will always support improvements to workplace health and safety.”— 2024-08-22View Hansard
Expressed concern about expanding the scope of industrial manslaughter offences and category 1 offences, arguing they disproportionately affect small businesses rather than large corporations. Opposed alternative verdict provisions for industrial manslaughter charges.
“It is not the big corporate giants that have been caught with industrial manslaughter; it is small and family business owners.”— 2024-08-21View Hansard
Supports the bill and defended the provision allowing workplace photos and videos, questioning opposition concerns about such evidence gathering.
“Of course I will support these bills. Of course I will support workers right across Queensland.”— 2024-08-22View Hansard
Supports the bill as chair of the reviewing committee, defending the photo and video provisions as necessary evidence gathering for safety contraventions.
“Let's face it, if there is a contravention of an act in a workplace, somebody who is going in to try to remedy the situation absolutely should be entitled to gather the appropriate evidence in order to prosecute.”— 2024-08-22View Hansard
As a committee member, spoke in support of the Electrical Safety bill, detailing the technical amendments to extra-low-voltage equipment definitions and addressing stakeholder concerns about fire protection work and electric vehicle regulation.
“The bill proposes to introduce a head of power to prescribe extra-low-voltage equipment where it meets the risk threshold in the Electrical Safety Regulation.”— 2024-08-21View Hansard
Expressed concerns about photo-taking powers for union officials in contested industrial environments without erasure requirements, viewing it as expanding powers for militant unions.
“The LNP would never be party to the expansion of nefarious powers such as being able to take photographs in contested industrial environments and not have to erase them.”— 2024-08-21View Hansard
As a committee member, supported the broad intent of the electrical safety reforms but criticised the government for taking too long to implement the 2021 Electrical Safety Act review recommendations.
“This legislation enacts some of the recommendations of the Electrical Safety Act review which was completed in December 2021. Unfortunately, this has taken far too long to come before us in the parliament.”— 2024-08-21View Hansard
As Minister, defended the bills in her reply speech, explaining that the photo and video provisions are being regulated in legislation for the first time with appropriate safeguards to help HSRs document unsafe conditions.
“As practitioners, we know that photos and videos are very useful tools to get things done. It has not been regulated. For the first time we are actually regulating it in legislation, with all of the safeguards around it.”— 2024-08-22View Hansard
Supported the bill's safety framework improvements but opposed clauses 46 and 47 on health and safety representative photography powers, as foreshadowed by the opposition.
“The opposition, as has already been foreshadowed, opposes clauses 46 and 47 relating to health and safety representatives and entry permit holders being able to take photos and videos.”— 2024-08-22View Hansard