As from 31 July 2021, WorkSafe inspectors can issue infringement notices with penalties ranging from $90.87 to $363.48 for an individual and $1817.40 for a corporation.

What is an infringement notice?

An infringement notice is a fine given by a WorkSafe inspector to a person who has committed an infringement offence (as prescribed under Schedule 20 of the OHS Regulations from 31 July 2021). The notice requires the person to pay a fixed penalty.

An infringement notice will include information about:

• the alleged offence
• how much is owed
• options for resolving an infringement, including options to pay the infringement penalty, requesting a review of the infringement notice, or electing to have the infringement offence heard and determined in Court, and
• the payment due date which will give you at least 21 days to pay from the date the notice is served

What are infringement offences?

An infringement notice can be issued for an infringement offence as an alternative to prosecution.

There are 54 offences under the OHS Act and Regulations that are prescribed as infringement offences.

In summary, the offences relate to:

• undertaking work without a required licence, registration, qualification, experience or supervision
• using plant that is not licensed or registered as required
• failing to meet various duties relating to the removal and storage of asbestos
• failure to keep various required records

Can I appeal an infringement notice?

You can elect for the infringement to be reviewed by the Internal Review Unit or elect to have the infringement offence heard and determined in court.

If you want WorkSafe to review your fine, you can apply for internal review at any time before the due date for payment listed on your infringement notice or your penalty reminder notice, or within 14 days of becoming aware of a notice if you were unaware of it.

After the due date on the penalty reminder notice, if your fine has not been paid WorkSafe will register the infringement offence with Fines Victoria and you will not be able to apply to WorkSafe for review.

The grounds you can request a review include if you believe:

• there were exceptional circumstance which applied at the time
• the decision was contrary to law
• you are a person who has special circumstances
• there has been a mistake of identity
• you were unaware of the notice

The above information has been sourced from www.worksafe.vic.gov.au

If you require assistance with this or any workplace health and safety matter, we encourage you to contact our specialist associate, Bevan Smillie at Smilsafe – see www.smilsafe.com.au.