OSHA 1994 Penalties Malaysia 2025: Complete Fine & Imprisonment Guide After Amendment Act

Disclaimer: This article provides general guidance on penalties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514) as amended by the OSHA (Amendment) Act 2022 (Act A1648). Specific application depends on circumstances. Always seek legal advice for your particular situation.

The maximum fine for failing to ensure employee safety increased from RM 50,000 to RM 500,000 on 1 June 2024. That is a tenfold increase. The OSHA (Amendment) Act 2022 also expanded personal liability to directors, managers, compliance officers, and partners, including imprisonment of up to 2 years.

This guide covers the complete penalty structure section by section, compares pre-amendment and post-amendment penalties, explains personal liability exposure, and identifies the compliance priorities that carry the highest financial risk.

What Changed on 1 June 2024

The OSHA (Amendment) Act 2022 (Act A1648) made four fundamental changes to workplace safety enforcement in Malaysia.

Change	Before (Pre-June 2024)	After (Post-June 2024)
Maximum employer duty fine	RM 50,000	RM 500,000
Coverage scope	First Schedule industries only (manufacturing, mining, construction, etc.)	All workplaces in Malaysia (except domestic employment, armed forces, ships)
Personal liability	Directors, managers, secretaries	Expanded to include compliance officers, partners, any person responsible for management
New requirement: Safety Coordinator	No equivalent requirement	Section 29A: All workplaces with 5+ employees not requiring an SHO must appoint a Safety Coordinator (RM 50,000 penalty)

The previous penalty structure applied only to gazetted industries listed in the First Schedule. The amendment removed this restriction. If you employ workers in Malaysia, regardless of industry, OSHA 1994 now applies to you.

Complete Penalty Structure: Employer and Self-Employed Person Duties

Sections 15 through 18 contain the employer's core duties. These carry the highest penalties because they represent the fundamental obligation to keep workers safe.

Section	Duty	Maximum Fine	Maximum Imprisonment
Section 15	General duty to ensure safety, health, and welfare of employees	RM 500,000	2 years
Section 16	Formulating and implementing a written safety and health policy	RM 500,000	2 years
Section 17	Protecting non-employees (visitors, contractors, public) from workplace risks	RM 500,000	2 years
Section 18	Occupier duties for premises	RM 500,000	2 years
Section 18A (New)	Principal duties toward contractors: safety, information, training, emergency procedures	RM 500,000	2 years

What Section 15 Requires

Section 15 is the most commonly cited section in DOSH prosecutions. It requires employers to provide, so far as is practicable:

Subsection	Duty	Practical Examples
15(2)(a)	Safe plant and systems of work	Machine guarding, LOTO procedures, safe operating procedures
15(2)(b)	Safe use, handling, storage, and transport of substances	Chemical management, SDS availability, proper storage facilities
15(2)(c)	Information, instruction, training, and supervision	Safety inductions, job-specific training, competent supervision
15(2)(d)	Safe workplace and safe means of access and egress	Clear walkways, proper lighting, maintained emergency exits
15(2)(e)	Adequate welfare facilities	Clean toilets, drinking water, rest areas, first aid facilities
15(2)(f) (New)	Emergency procedures	Emergency Response Plan, trained ERT, drill records

Safety Committee and Safety Officer Penalties

Requirement	Who Must Comply	Previous Penalty	Current Penalty
Establish Safety and Health Committee (Section 30)	Employers with 40+ employees	RM 5,000 or 6 months	RM 100,000 or 1 year
Appoint Safety and Health Officer (Section 29)	Gazetted industries with 100+ employees	RM 5,000	RM 50,000 or 6 months
Acting as SHO without DOSH registration	Individuals	RM 5,000	RM 50,000 or 6 months
Appoint Safety and Health Coordinator (Section 29A, New)	All workplaces with 5+ employees not requiring an SHO	N/A (new requirement)	RM 50,000 or 6 months

Which Safety Role Does Your Workplace Need?

Workforce Size	SHO Required?	Coordinator Required?	Committee Required?
Under 5 employees	No	No	No
5 to 39 employees	No (unless gazetted industry with 100+)	Yes	No
40 to 99 employees (non-gazetted)	No	Yes	Yes
40 to 99 employees (gazetted)	No	Yes	Yes
100+ employees (gazetted industry)	Yes	No (SHO satisfies the requirement)	Yes
100+ employees (non-gazetted)	No	Yes	Yes

Need Help Understanding Your Compliance Obligations? Talk to Our Risk Specialists.

DOSH Enforcement Notices and Their Consequences

DOSH enforcement operates on a two-tier system: improvement notices (fix the problem) and prohibition notices (stop the activity immediately). Non-compliance with either carries the same maximum penalty as the underlying offence, plus daily fines that accumulate rapidly.

Notice Type	When Issued	Previous Penalty	Current Penalty
Improvement Notice (Section 48)	DOSH identifies a problem and gives you time to fix it	RM 50,000 or 5 years + RM 500/day	RM 500,000 or 2 years + RM 2,000/day
Prohibition Notice (Section 49)	DOSH identifies imminent danger and orders immediate cessation	RM 50,000 or 5 years + RM 500/day	RM 500,000 or 2 years + RM 2,000/day

Daily Fine Accumulation

The RM 2,000 daily penalty for continuing non-compliance accumulates on top of the base fine. Over time, this can exceed the base penalty.

Non-Compliance Duration	Daily Fines Accumulated	Plus Base Fine	Total Potential Exposure
1 week	RM 14,000	RM 500,000	RM 514,000
1 month	RM 60,000	RM 500,000	RM 560,000
3 months	RM 180,000	RM 500,000	RM 680,000
6 months	RM 360,000	RM 500,000	RM 860,000
1 year	RM 730,000	RM 500,000	RM 1,230,000

Employee and Manufacturer Penalties

Duty Holder	Section	Duty	Maximum Penalty
Employee	Section 24	Take reasonable care for own safety, cooperate with employer, wear PPE, comply with instructions	RM 2,000 (increased from RM 1,000)
Employee	Section 25	Not to interfere with or misuse safety equipment	RM 20,000 or 2 years
Manufacturer / Supplier	Section 20-21	Safe design, construction, testing of plant; safe substances with proper testing	RM 200,000 (increased from RM 20,000)

Personal Liability: Who Gets Prosecuted

Section 52 of OSHA 1994 creates personal criminal liability for individuals in management positions. When a company commits an offence, certain individuals are presumed guilty unless they can prove otherwise.

Who Is Covered by Personal Liability

Category	Previously Covered	Newly Added by Amendment
Directors	Yes	-
Managers	Yes	-
Company secretaries	Yes	-
Compliance officers	-	Yes
Partners (in partnerships)	-	Yes
Persons responsible for management	-	Yes
Persons assisting in management	-	Yes

The Presumption of Guilt

When a company commits an OSHA offence, the individuals listed above are presumed guilty unless they can prove all three elements:

1. The offence occurred without their knowledge
2. They did not consent to or connive in the offence
3. They took all reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence to prevent the offence

The burden of proof is on the individual, not the prosecution. This means you must have documented evidence of your safety efforts. Verbal claims that you "took safety seriously" are not a defence.

Due Diligence Evidence

Defence Element	Documentation Required
Knowledge of legal requirements	Training records, board briefings on safety obligations, legal advice obtained
Hazard identification systems	HIRARC assessments, inspection records, audit reports
Control implementation	SOPs, training records, maintenance logs, equipment certifications
Monitoring and review	Safety Committee minutes, KPI tracking, incident trend reports
Resource allocation	Budget approvals for safety equipment, training investments, staff appointments
Incident response	Investigation reports, corrective actions implemented, follow-up verification

Complete Penalty Reference Table

Offence	Section	Maximum Fine	Maximum Imprisonment
Employer general duty breach	15, 19	RM 500,000	2 years
No written safety policy	16, 19	RM 500,000	2 years
Endangering non-employees	17, 19	RM 500,000	2 years
Occupier duty breach	18, 19	RM 500,000	2 years
Principal duty breach (contractors)	18A	RM 500,000	2 years
Manufacturer/supplier duty breach	20-21, 23	RM 200,000	-
Employee duty breach	24	RM 2,000	-
No SHO appointed	29	RM 50,000	6 months
No Safety Coordinator	29A	RM 50,000	6 months
No Safety Committee (40+ employees)	30	RM 100,000	1 year
Non-compliance with DOSH notice	49	RM 500,000 + RM 2,000/day	2 years
General offence	51	RM 100,000 + RM 2,000/day	-

Compliance Priorities by Financial Risk

Not all violations carry equal risk. This table helps you prioritise compliance investments based on penalty exposure and enforcement likelihood.

Priority	Requirement	Exposure	Action
Critical	Core safety duties (Section 15): safe plant, training, risk assessment	RM 500,000 + imprisonment + personal liability	Immediate: HIRARC, SOPs, training records, equipment maintenance
Critical	DOSH notice compliance	RM 500,000 + RM 2,000/day + imprisonment	Comply within timeframe or appeal. Never ignore.
High	Safety Committee (40+ employees)	RM 100,000 + 1 year imprisonment	Establish committee, quarterly meetings, documented minutes
High	SHO appointment (gazetted industry, 100+ employees)	RM 50,000 + 6 months imprisonment	Appoint registered SHO, verify Green Book
Medium	Safety Coordinator (5+ employees, no SHO required)	RM 50,000 + 6 months imprisonment	Designate an employee, document the appointment
Medium	Written safety policy	RM 500,000 + 2 years imprisonment	Create policy, communicate to all workers, review annually

Common Mistakes That Trigger OSHA Penalties

Mistake	Penalty Exposure	Prevention
No Safety Committee despite having 40+ employees	RM 100,000	Establish committee, quarterly meetings, documented minutes
SHO registration lapsed	RM 50,000	Calendar reminders 6 months before expiry
No written safety policy	RM 500,000	Create policy, communicate to workers, review annually
Ignoring DOSH improvement notice	RM 500,000 + RM 2,000/day	Comply within timeframe or appeal. Never ignore.
No Safety Coordinator (5+ employees)	RM 50,000	Designate employee, document appointment
Contractor safety gaps (no Section 18A compliance)	RM 500,000	Contractor management system with induction, supervision, documentation
No incident investigation or documentation	RM 500,000	Investigation protocol, documented root cause analysis, corrective actions

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Frequently Asked Questions

When did the new OSHA penalties take effect?

1 June 2024. The OSHA (Amendment) Act 2022 (Act A1648) received Royal Assent in 2022 but the effective date was gazetted as 1 June 2024. The previous penalty structure applies to violations that occurred before this date.

Can I face prison time for OSHA violations?

Yes. Most serious offences carry imprisonment terms ranging from 6 months to 2 years. Imprisonment is more likely in cases involving death or serious injury, willful neglect of safety duties, repeated violations, or ignoring DOSH enforcement notices. Directors and managers face personal imprisonment under Section 52.

What is the difference between an improvement notice and a prohibition notice?

An improvement notice requires you to fix an identified problem within a specified timeframe. A prohibition notice requires immediate cessation of a dangerous activity. Both carry identical penalties: RM 500,000 plus RM 2,000 per day. You can appeal an improvement notice and continue operations pending the appeal decision. Prohibition notices must be complied with immediately regardless of appeal.

Does OSHA 1994 apply to small businesses?

Yes. The Amendment 2022 removed the previous industry-based restrictions. If you employ workers in Malaysia, OSHA applies. With 5 or more employees, you must also appoint a Safety and Health Coordinator under Section 29A. The only exemptions are domestic employment, the armed forces, and ship-based work covered by the Merchant Shipping Ordinance.

Can directors face personal fines even if the company is not prosecuted?

Under Section 52, when a company commits an OSHA offence, directors, managers, compliance officers, partners, and anyone responsible for management can be personally prosecuted. The presumption of guilt applies: individuals must prove they did not know, did not consent, and took all reasonable precautions. Personal prosecution can proceed independently of the company prosecution.

Are penalties cumulative for multiple violations?

Yes. Each separate offence can result in a separate penalty. After a serious accident, DOSH may identify multiple violations: no HIRARC, no training records, no equipment maintenance, no Safety Committee. Each violation is a separate charge with its own penalty. The total exposure can reach millions of ringgit.

How do I prove due diligence if prosecuted?

Documentation is everything. Maintain: written safety policies, training records with dates and content, HIRARC assessments for all activities, Safety Committee minutes showing quarterly meetings, workplace inspection reports, incident investigations with corrective actions, and budget approvals for safety investments. These records demonstrate that you actively managed safety, which is the core of the due diligence defence.

What is the deadline for Safety Coordinator appointment?

The requirement took effect on 1 June 2024 with no grace period. If you have 5 or more employees and your workplace does not require a Safety and Health Officer, you should already have a Safety Coordinator appointed. The RM 50,000 penalty applies immediately for non-compliance.

Can I appeal a DOSH enforcement notice?

Yes. Appeal to the DOSH Director General within the timeframe specified in the notice. For improvement notices, you do not need to comply pending the appeal decision. For prohibition notices, you must comply immediately regardless of appeal. Ignoring a notice without appealing is the worst outcome: it removes any defence and guarantees prosecution.

How does OSHA compliance affect my insurance?

OSHA compliance directly affects your workmen compensation, CGL, and industrial property insurance. During claims investigation, loss adjusters assess whether the employer complied with statutory safety duties. Non-compliance with OSHA strengthens negligence claims and can complicate insurance claim settlement. Facilities with documented OSHA compliance present better risk profiles and receive more favourable insurance terms.

The OSHA Amendment 2022 changed the calculus of workplace safety compliance in Malaysia. RM 50,000 maximum exposure became RM 500,000. The personal liability net expanded to catch more individuals at more levels of management. Penalties are now cumulative, daily fines accumulate, and imprisonment is a real possibility for serious violations.

For industrial and construction operations, these penalties represent material financial risk. The cost of compliance, which includes proper risk assessments, trained safety personnel, documented procedures, and maintained equipment, is a fraction of the potential penalty exposure from a single serious incident.