Senior executives of corporations could be charged with industrial manslaughter if someone dies at their workplace under new laws the Queensland Government says will ensure that no-one is above the law.

State parliament passed the legislation last night, clearing another key piece of parliamentary business the Government wanted finalised before it called an election.

Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said the laws were in response to the deaths of two workers at the Eagle Farm Racecourse last year, and the deaths of four visitors to the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast.

She told Parliament the new offence sent a clear message to corporations that negligence was not acceptable.

"We owe it to the victims of these tragedies and their loved ones to ensure Queensland has strong industrial manslaughter laws to protect people on the job backed by strong penalties for employers proven to be negligent," Ms Grace said.

"No one should be above the law and that's what this bill seeks to achieve.

"This isn't about favouring unions as those opposite side claims, it's about saving lives and holding negligent employers to account.

"It's simply not good enough that a company and its senior officers can negligently cause the death of a worker and evade justice due to the veil of corporate anonymity."

Union payback: Opposition

The Opposition voted against the laws, arguing Labor was only pushing the change because the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union wanted it.

Opposition Industrial Relations spokesperson Jarrod Bleijie said existing legislation was sufficient to cover workplace accidents.

"People are currently being prosecuted at the moment, the current laws are working," Mr Bleijie said.

"Make no mistake this is a union payback.

"Everything we've seen from this Minister for Industrial Relations with her background in the union indicates the legislation we have in this is a pay off to the union movement."

Gold Coast criminal lawyer Bill Potts says the legislation may make it easier for unions to take legal action against companies.

"There can be no doubt that the unions or plaintiff lawyers who are seeking to sheet home blame — not merely to individuals but to companies — will find some comfort in this law," Mr Potts said.

"And this is one of the reasons the law society took the view that the present law already covered the field.

Mr Potts said it appeared the Government was seeking not just to punish, but deter rogue companies from allowing unsafe workplaces.

"Any death in the workplace is one too many," he said.

"The question is going to be is whether this law will succeed in reducing the number of deaths and succeed in ensuring companies have better work cultures designed to prevent the loss of life of either workers or in the case of Dreamworld innocent victims seeking to have a day of fun."

'The right thing to do'

Michael Garrels, whose son Jason died in a workplace electrocution in 2012, said the legislation will hold companies to account.

Michael Garrels lobbied hard for stronger laws after his son Jason's death in 2012. ( ABC News: Jonathan Hair )

"For myself and a hell of a lot of families these days I can say that we're all very, very supportive of it," Mr Garrels said.

"It will be a preventative regardless of what any business group likes to say about it.

"It's a disservice to all of us to portray us as some dumb union lackies in this.

"Our politics die with the people that are dead and we're here because it's the right thing to do, it's the just thing to do."