Industrial manslaughter laws may be introduced in Western Australia as part of an overhaul of the state's outdated workplace safety legislation.
Next year, the government is expected to introduce a Work Health and Safety Bill, consistent with the national model, which may feature an industrial manslaughter offence.
"We believe harsher penalties are necessary," Commerce and Industrial Relations Minister Bill Johnston said on Friday.
Amendments to the state's existing Occupational Health and Safety Act passed through parliament on Tuesday, substantially increasing fines and bringing the state into line with the national model.
They are the first penalty increases for workplace safety breaches in 14 years.
First time offences categorised as level 4, which includes fatalities, will increase from $500,000 to more than $2.7 million.
The changes will also increase the maximum term of imprisonment from two to five years.
"I'm confident the changes will help improve the safety of all workers," Mr Johnston said.
A federal parliamentary inquiry into industrial deaths on Thursday heard from the CFMEU, which has for many years pushed to make industrial manslaughter a specific criminal offence.
It also heard from grieving families who said current penalties were not enough.
One of them was Regan Ballentine, whose 17-year-old son Wesley fell 12 metres to his death while installing a glass ceiling at the H&M store in Perth in January last year.
She said he had told her "someone is going togetkilledonthatworksite" eight days earlier.
"They'rehellrecklessMum," he told her.
"Noonewearsaharness."
Ms Ballentine said the safety failures included the ceiling being installed from fromthetopdown,notgroundup, no coverings over holes and no safety railing.
"Itpointstoafundamentallackofcare," she wrote in her submission.
"Utterapathy.
"NoonecaringcostWesley hislife.Andme myonlychild."
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