The South Australian Government is calling for change in the way penalties are paid after workplace injury and death.

SA Attorney-General John Rau says there is a loophole that allows a company’s insurer to pay fines for deaths at work.

The State Government says that it wants the change to prevent companies from dodging their liability.

Mr Rau has conceded that because the regulation of insurance is mostly on the federal level, it would require support nationwide.

“It looks difficult, I can't mislead you about that, it looks like it is either a matter for federal regulation or it may be that it's difficult to regulate at all,” the Attorney-General said this week.

He has not given up the idea though, and says he plans to speak to the federal Industrial Relations Minister and also raise the matter with interstate counterparts in July.

Joe Szakacs of SA Unions told the ABC that the toll is too high.

“In Australia alone this year we've seen 56 workplace deaths, in South Australia we've seen four,” he said.

“We need to go to get to a place where we see zero workplace fatalities.”