Strong, conflicting views have been expressed to us. Broadly, three governments330 have expressly proposed that the onus of proof should rest entirely with the prosecution (as it currently does in their jurisdictions) while the Queensland Government has stated that that State’s current statutory arrangement, which has a reverse onus, is suitable for the model Act. The other five governments expressed no view. Almost all industry bodies and individual employers who expressed a view on the issue strongly opposed a reverse onus. Unions and their peak bodies strongly support a reverse onus. Academic and legal views were divided.
We note that recent reviews of State OHS legislation have similarly been divided. For example, the Maxwell Review opposed a reverse onus.331 The Stein Inquiry recommended that reverse onus remain in the NSW Act, 332 reaching the opposite conclusion from that in the earlier NSW WorkCover Review.333
