WHS penalty calculator

Look up the maximum fine for a Category 1, 2 or 3 work health and safety offence in your state or territory, for a company, an officer or a worker, plus the industrial manslaughter maximum.

Figures checked 5 November 2026. Free to use, no sign-in.

Penalties differ in every jurisdiction. Victoria uses a different offence structure.

Offence category

Reckless conduct (or gross negligence) that exposes someone to a risk of death or serious injury or illness.

Maximum penalty

NSW, Category 1: body corporate (a company)

$11,606,824

90,424 penalty units. Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW).

NSW: all categories

Category 1
Body corporate
$11,606,824
PCBU or officer (individual)
$2,413,809
Worker or other individual
$1,160,117
Category 2
Body corporate
$2,326,910
PCBU or officer (individual)
$465,433
Worker or other individual
$232,716
Category 3
Body corporate
$779,145
PCBU or officer (individual)
$155,829
Worker or other individual
$77,914

Industrial manslaughter in NSW

Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) s 34C, in force from 16 September 2024. Maximum: $20,000,000 for a body corporate; 25 years’ imprisonment for an individual.

  • These are maximums for one offence. Courts set the actual penalty, and most fines are well below the maximum.
  • Set in penalty units, worth $128.36 each in 2026–27. Dollar amounts are rounded down.

General information, not legal advice. Figures checked against Safe Work Australia’s comparison table (1 August 2026) and the 2026–27 indexation instruments.

How this works

Choose the jurisdiction, who is charged and the offence category. The tool shows the 2026–27 maximum and the full table for that jurisdiction. Figures come from Safe Work Australia’s comparison table of maximum penalties (as at 1 August 2026), corrected where a later indexation instrument applies:

  • Commonwealth (Comcare): Category 1 maximums from the 2026 indexation notice ($17,728,000 for a company).
  • ACT: the 2026–27 indexed amounts ($12,321,000 for a company on Category 1).
  • NSW: penalty units at $128.36 each, rounded down to the dollar.
  • Victoria: the OHS Act 2004 does not use Categories 1–3. The tool shows s 32 (reckless endangerment) and s 21 (the employer’s general duty), in penalty units at $209.10.

Not included: other offences (such as failing to notify an incident or breaching a regulation), enforceable undertakings, adverse publicity orders and court costs.

Legal basis

Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us.

Questions

Are WHS penalties the same in every state?

No. South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory use the original model amounts ($3 million for a company on a Category 1 offence). NSW sets penalties in penalty units, Queensland in fixed $100 units, the ACT and the Commonwealth index theirs each year, and Western Australia has its own higher amounts. Victoria has a different offence structure under its OHS Act.

What is the difference between Category 1, 2 and 3?

Category 3 is failing a health and safety duty. Category 2 is failing a duty in a way that exposes someone to a risk of death or serious injury or illness. Category 1 is reckless (in some jurisdictions also grossly negligent) conduct that exposes someone to that risk, and is the only category that can lead to imprisonment. Western Australia’s Category 1 is different: a duty failure that causes death or serious harm.

Can a director be fined personally?

Yes. Officers such as directors have their own duty to exercise due diligence, and the individual maximums for a PCBU or officer apply to them. Category 1 and industrial manslaughter offences can also lead to imprisonment.

What is industrial manslaughter?

A separate offence for negligent or reckless conduct that causes a death at work. Every state and territory and the Commonwealth now has one, with maximum penalties of $10 million to over $20 million for a company and 20 years to life imprisonment for an individual.

Why do the Commonwealth figures differ from other tables?

The Commonwealth amounts are indexed every year. The 2026–27 Category 1 maximum for a company is $17,728,000 under the July 2026 indexation notice. Some published tables still show the 2025–26 figure of $17,034,000.

Related tools

All tools
CheckerNotifiable incident checkerCheck whether a workplace death, injury, illness or dangerous incident must be reported to the WHS regulator, how fast, who to call and what records to keep.Open checker CheckerPsychosocial risk self-assessmentRate the 14 common psychosocial hazards to build a ranked risk register, with the psychosocial regulations that apply in your state or territory.Open checker CalculatorWorkplace amenities calculatorWork out the toilets, urinals, washbasins and drinking water points a workplace should have from its headcount, under the code of practice for your state.Open calculator

Questions the calculator can’t answer?

Workfloor answers pay, award, leave and termination questions for your team, with the Fair Work Act section or award clause behind each answer.

See plans