The Real Cost of a WorkSafe Breach vs the Cost of Compliance

How much did unsafe work actually cost Victorian businesses?

In 2025, Victorian courts and WorkSafe handed down $17,391,325 in fines, costs and enforceable undertakings across 137 completed prosecutions and enforceable undertakings — including three seven-figure penalties and 29 outcomes worth more than $100,000 (WorkSafe Victoria, 30 January 2026). Manufacturing was the second most-prosecuted industry in the state that year, behind only construction, accounting for 30 of those 137 matters. For a manufacturer, a single bad incident is rarely a one-off cost — it's a fine, legal costs, downtime, and often a repeat visit from WorkSafe.

What does a real manufacturing prosecution actually look like?

The numbers are easier to picture with a real case. In May 2026, WorkSafe Victoria reported that a Richmond frozen food manufacturer, Makmur Enterprises Pty Ltd, was convicted and fined $180,000 plus $5,816 in costs after a worker's finger was crushed in a dough-mixing machine with inadequate guarding (WorkSafe Victoria, 14 May 2026). It was the sixth time the company had been prosecuted over inadequate machine guarding since 2014, with previous fines totalling $345,000. Across six prosecutions for essentially the same hazard, that's roughly $525,000 in fines alone — before legal costs, lost production time, or the cost of the injuries themselves.

What's the maximum penalty for a basic safety breach in Victoria?

The core employer duty under the OHS Act — to provide and maintain a safe working environment — sits in section 21, which carries a maximum penalty of 9,000 penalty units for a body corporate and 1,800 penalty units for an individual (AustLII, OHS Act 2004 s21). At the penalty unit value of $209.10 that applies from 1 July 2026 (Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance), that works out to a theoretical maximum of roughly $1.88 million for a company and $376,000 for an individual — for one offence, under one section, before workplace manslaughter or repeat-offence provisions are even considered. Actual fines are set by a court based on the specific circumstances, but the ceiling gives a sense of how seriously the law treats a breach.

Manufacturing-specific enforcement in 2025

Metric	Figure
Total penalties, fines and undertakings (Vic, 2025)	$17,391,325
Total prosecutions and undertakings completed	137
Manufacturing prosecutions	30 (2nd highest industry)
Outcomes over $100,000	29
Recidivist manufacturer fine (single case, May 2026)	$180,000
Same company's prior fines (2014–2025)	$345,000

Source: WorkSafe Victoria

What does compliance actually cost by comparison?

Compliance isn't free, but it's a fraction of a single prosecution. A site assessment, a working induction and training system, and a plan to close identified gaps are a recurring operating cost — not a one-off six-figure event. WorkSafe itself points manufacturers toward its free OHS Essentials consultations as a starting point, precisely because the gap between "we think we're fine" and "we can prove it" is where most breaches happen. If it's been a while since anyone independently checked your site against the OHS Act, it's worth getting a second opinion — you can book a site assessment to find out where you stand before WorkSafe does.

FAQ

What's the maximum fine WorkSafe can pursue against a manufacturer? It depends on the specific offence, but the core duty under section 21 of the OHS Act carries a maximum of 9,000 penalty units for a company — around $1.88 million at 2026–27 penalty unit values — with separate, higher penalties for workplace manslaughter.

Does a repeat offence get treated more harshly? Courts do take prior convictions into account, and WorkSafe has publicly flagged repeat prosecutions — such as a food manufacturer fined six times since 2014 for similar machine guarding failures — as evidence of disregard for worker safety.

Can a near miss lead to a prosecution, even without an injury? Yes. WorkSafe can prosecute a breach of the general duty to provide a safe working environment whether or not an injury actually occurred, if an inspector finds the risk wasn't being managed so far as reasonably practicable.

This article is general information for Victorian manufacturers, not legal advice. Last updated: 10 August 2026.