“The death of a worker in Sydney yesterday, and delays in commitment from the NSW government to investigate industrial manslaughter laws, highlight the need for reform,” she said.

This is the fifth workers’ death in Sydney in just the last five weeks. Earlier this month, a man was killed after his head became stuck in a piece of machinery.

Ms Mackovic said SafeWork NSW should be shutting down the Port Botany site until better practices are in place to avoid people being killed while at work. She added this incident is the worst of it, but there are many more with significant injuries.

Slater and Gordon said state cabinet has signed off on reforms to make it easier for workers to prosecute companies and individuals. Under NSW Work Health and Safety Act, prosecutors have to prove “gross negligence” rather than “recklessness”.

“There is a need for strong national industrial manslaughter legislation but national laws are not supported by the federal government,” Ms Mackovic said. “As a national law firm, we see the lack of consistency across the state and believe there should be national standards to protect all workers.

“Workers should feel safe no matter what state they are in.”

Ms Mackovic added employers should be liable for gross negligence of workers as they have a “non-delegable” duty of care for their employees: “As an employer, you shouldn’t be sending a worker onsite without knowing it is safe.”

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She said if it’s not guaranteed to be safe, industrial manslaughter laws may see more employers thinking twice before exposing their workers to any risks.

“Queensland introduced the laws in 2017, after several workplace deaths in 2016. So perhaps NSW needs to step up and do the same, if the federal government won’t,” she said.

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