Work Health and Safety (Public Notification of Indexed Penalty Amounts) Notifiable Instrument 2025

The Work Health and Safety (Public Notification of Indexed Penalty Amounts) Notifiable Instrument 2025 is a Commonwealth notifiable instrument made under clause 6 of Schedule 4 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth). It commenced on 1 July 2025.

Its function is narrow but important. The instrument says that, having taken notice of the CPI number for the March quarter of 2025, the regulator gives notice in Schedule 1 of the amount of each monetary penalty calculated under Schedule 4 of the Act. In other words, it publishes the updated indexed penalty amounts that apply under the Commonwealth WHS Act from 1 July 2025.

It is important not to overread the instrument. It does not itself create new duties, new offences or a new compliance framework. It does not replace the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth). Instead, it updates and publishes the dollar amounts attached to penalty categories and tiers that already exist under the Act.

This instrument is relevant to businesses and organisations operating under the Commonwealth WHS framework. The schedule refers to individuals, persons conducting a business or undertaking, officers of a person conducting a business or undertaking, and body corporates. That means the published amounts can matter both to the organisation and, in some cases, to individuals whose role or conduct is dealt with separately under the Act.

For many businesses, the first practical question is not the amount of the penalty but whether the Commonwealth WHS regime applies at all. A large number of Australian businesses are more familiar with state or territory WHS systems. This instrument does not explain the boundary between Commonwealth coverage and other WHS regimes, so businesses should confirm the correct legal framework before using these figures in compliance reporting or internal training.

This is especially important for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions, businesses with government-related work, and businesses that use standard templates across different entities. A policy that quotes the wrong WHS penalty schedule can create confusion and weaken governance reporting.

Schedule 1 publishes three groups of indexed monetary penalty amounts.

First, Table 1 sets out monetary penalties for categories 1 to 3. These are listed separately for: an individual who commits an offence as a person conducting a business or undertaking or as an officer of a person conducting a business or undertaking, another individual, and a body corporate.

Second, Table 2 sets out monetary penalties for tiers A to I. These are listed for an individual and for a body corporate.

Third, Table 3 sets out WHS civil penalty provision tiers 1 to 4. These are also listed for an individual and for a body corporate.

This structure matters in practice. There is no single Commonwealth WHS penalty amount that applies across the board. The amount depends on the relevant category or tier and on the legal status of the person involved. Businesses should avoid using a generic headline figure where the Act actually uses a more specific category or tier.

For category 1 monetary penalties, the published amount is $3,407,000.00 for an individual who commits an offence as a PCBU or officer of a PCBU, $1,703,000.00 for another individual, and $17,034,000.00 for a body corporate.

For category 2 monetary penalties, the published amount is $475,000.00 for an individual who commits an offence as a PCBU or officer of a PCBU, $237,000.00 for another individual, and $2,373,000.00 for a body corporate.

For category 3 monetary penalties, the published amount is $159,000.00 for an individual who commits an offence as a PCBU or officer of a PCBU, $79,000.00 for another individual, and $795,000.00 for a body corporate.

For tiers A to I, the published amounts for individuals and body corporates are: tier A $158,000.00 and $789,000.00, tier B $79,000.00 and $397,000.00, tier C $32,000.00 and $159,000.00, tier D $16,000.00 and $79,000.00, tier E $9,500.00 and $48,000.00, tier F $7,900.00 and $40,000.00, tier G $5,700.00 and $28,000.00, tier H $3,200.00 and $16,000.00, and tier I $1,900.00 and $9,700.00.

For WHS civil penalty provision tiers 1 to 4, the published amounts are: tier 1 $32,000.00 for an individual and $159,000.00 for a body corporate, tier 2 $16,000.00 and $79,000.00, tier 3 $7,900.00 and $40,000.00, and tier 4 $3,200.00 and $16,000.00.

Businesses usually notice this kind of instrument when they are updating documents or reporting lines rather than when they are reading legislation for the first time. Common trigger points include annual compliance reviews, board reporting cycles, policy refreshes, incident response planning, contractor onboarding and WHS training updates.

If your business quotes penalty amounts in internal materials, those references can become outdated quickly. A stale figure in a policy, induction pack or board paper may not change the underlying law, but it can reduce the quality of your compliance messaging and create avoidable confusion about risk exposure.

The update can also matter when a business is reviewing governance settings. Directors and officers often want current penalty figures when considering safety oversight, escalation pathways and reporting expectations. The instrument is therefore useful as a governance reference point, even though it does not itself impose the substantive duty.

Another practical trigger point is contract and procurement work. If your business uses contractor management documents, service agreements or tender materials that refer to WHS compliance and penalty exposure, those references should be checked for accuracy from 1 July 2025.

The instrument does not impose a standalone obligation to take a particular action, but businesses that rely on published penalty figures should make sure they are using the current Commonwealth amounts from the correct start date. In practice, that means checking whether your documents, training and governance materials still refer to the repealed 2024 notice or to older figures.

Before relying on this page, there are three key checks. First, confirm that the Commonwealth WHS Act is the regime that applies to your business or to the part of the business you are reviewing. Second, identify the relevant category or tier under the Act rather than assuming one figure applies to all contraventions. Third, check whether the relevant person is an individual, an individual acting as a PCBU or officer, or a body corporate, because the published amounts differ.

Businesses should also remember that this instrument is part of a yearly cycle. It repeals the 2024 instrument and is itself repealed at the start of 1 July 2026. That means penalty references should be rechecked again before the next annual update period.

The instrument was made on 23 June 2025 by Michael James Duke, acting Chief Executive Officer of Comcare. It commenced on 1 July 2025. The legislation register records it as in force.

The instrument also repeals the whole of the Work Health and Safety (Public Notification of Indexed Penalty Amounts) Notifiable Instrument 2024. It is then repealed at the start of 1 July 2026. That drafting shows that the public notification of indexed penalty amounts is intended to be refreshed on an annual basis.