Director of Public Prosecutions - Worksafe
246. Hon ALISON XAMON to the parliamentary secretary representing the Attorney General:
Will this government be pursuing legislation that will allow the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute in the event that WorkSafe does not pursue a prosecution in relation to a workplace incident; and, if so, when; and, if not, why not?
Hon MICHAEL MISCHIN replied:
I thank the member for some notice of this question.
The Attorney General has no plans to pursue legislation specifically addressing this subject. The Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1991 presently sets out the manner in which the director may exercise his prosecutorial discretion. If an incident occurs in a workplace that might amount to a criminal offence, the director presently has the same discretion to consider whether to pursue a prosecution as exists in connection with any other alleged offence.