The New South Wales Government today pays its deepest respects to those who have died from work-related incidents or illness and their loved ones.

I will today join Unions NSW at a service at Reflection Park at Sydney’s Darling Harbour to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives, with the family, friends, and co-workers of victims.

The NSW Government believes every worker deserves a safe workplace and any workplace death is a tragedy.

While today we remember those who didn’t come home to their loved ones, the best tribute the NSW Government can offer is a safer future for others.

The NSW Government is acting to transform SafeWork NSW into a standalone regulator with a heightened role for families of injured workers.

We are enacting an industrial manslaughter offence – the last mainland state to introduce this offence – to hold to account those responsible for the death of a worker due to negligent or reckless behaviour.

The NSW Government is progressing a world-leading ban on engineered stone from July 1 to stem the rise in deadly silicosis.

This is a sombre day of grief and remembrance, but it must also be a day on which we recommit to action.

Sophie Cotsis
Minister for Industrial Relations
Minister for Work Health and Safety