Infringement fees

An infringement fee is the fine or penalty payable by someone who receives an infringement notice.

There are two categories of infringement fees:

• $800 to $4,000 (in $100 increments) for breaches of the requirement to have a system for systematic hazard identification.
• $100 to $3,000 (in $100 increments) for all other breaches of the Act.

The inspector who issues the infringement notice has to decide what fee the offending warrants. To do that the inspector will look at:

• did harm result
• if so, how bad was it
• if not, what harm could have occurred if the breach had gone undetected
• the size of the business operation
• the financial circumstances of the offender
• the workplace safety record of the offender.

Once an infringement fee is imposed and paid that is the end of the matter. No further action, such as prosecution, can be taken against the offender, unless of course the breach isn’t fixed and the offending is ongoing.

Go to:

• Infringement notice
• Fact Sheet: Infringement notice pdf file [size: 34k]