The Dreamworld deaths: corporate crime and the slumber of the law

Abstract

On Tuesday 25 October 2016, four people were killed on the popular Thunder River Rapids Ride (TRRR) at Dreamworld, Australia. Ardent Leisure Ltd pleaded guilty to three charges under section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) and was fined $A3.6 million with convictions recorded. This article analyses the charges, penalties and ways in which the responsibility of Ardent Leisure Limited for these deaths has been framed by the criminal jurisdiction–essentially, to minimise and neutralise the criminality. The article contends that the legal framework for governing corporate crime in Australia does not reflect the culpability of corporations or provide sentences of deterrence, as illustrated in the case of Guilfoyle v Ardent. The article explores the ways in which the Inquest and sentencing remarks in relation to Ardent demonstrate the failure of the legal system to grapple with the personhood of corporations, specifically in terms of agency and the implications for culpability.