Generally, those who made submissions on this point support a wider range of sentencing options. There is widespread agreement on the suitability of fines for breaches of statutory obligations under OHS legislation, and on custodial sentences available for serious breaches.
Even so, while existing sentencing options were generally supported, there were proposals from the ACTU, Unions NSW and various unions for additional options. The ACTU suggested that the model Act should provide for some sentencing options that would be new to the Australian OHS regulatory context (although they may be found in other Australian regulatory contexts or in other countries). These included incapacitation through dissolution orders, orders disqualifying an offender from government tenders, equity fines, victim compensation orders and ‘outcome responsibility’.324 Unions NSW proposed a further option of share prohibition. The CFMEU also proposed the inclusion of victim compensation orders in the model Act.
