Millions of dollars collected from businesses and employers who breach South Australia’s workplace safety laws will be funnelled directly back into programs designed to make workplaces safer under new legislation introduced by the state government.
The Work Health and Safety (Health and Safety Fund) Bill 2026 will establish a new Health and Safety Fund, managed by SafeWork SA, with every dollar collected through eligible fines and expiation fees to be reinvested into workplace health and safety initiatives.
Currently, penalties collected under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012, Dangerous Substances Act 1979 and Explosives Act 1936 are directed into general consolidated revenue.
More than $6 million in penalties have been imposed by courts for breaches of work health and safety laws over the past four years.
Under the proposed changes, that money would instead be used to support new safety initiatives delivered by organisations including business associations, trade unions, workplace health and safety professionals and research groups.
Deputy Premier and Industrial Relations Minister Kyam Maher said the fund would ensure penalties paid for workplace safety breaches directly contributed to reducing future risks.
“This legislation gives the South Australian community confidence that penalties imposed for breaches of WHS laws will be spent on improving safety outcomes to reduce the risks of death or serious injury,” Mr Maher said.
“The Fund will enable SafeWork SA to partner with health and safety stakeholders and unlock the potential for innovative new safety programs to improve workplace safety across South Australia.”
The SafeWork SA Advisory Committee will also be consulted on guidelines determining priority areas for funding.
The move follows recommendations from the independent 2022 review of SafeWork SA, which highlighted the importance of greater collaboration between the regulator and workplace safety stakeholders.
SA Unions President Jennie-Marie Gorman said the approach would ensure money collected following workplace safety breaches was used to prevent similar incidents.
“It’s only fair that initiatives created to make workplaces safer are funded by those who made workplaces unsafe to begin with,” she said.
Master Builders Association SA CEO Will Frogley also welcomed the proposal, describing measures that improve safety across building and construction workplaces as “practical, common sense initiatives”.
The legislation delivers on a State Government election commitment to establish the dedicated fund.
