Incidents

Notification of incidents (sections 37-38)

An employer or self-employed person must notify WorkSafe immediately after they find out about an incident that caused a death or serious injury. Serious injuries include, but are not limited to, those that need:

• medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance
• immediate treatment in hospital as an in-patient
• immediate medical treatment for injuries like an amputation, a serious head or eye injury, scalping, electric shock, spinal injury, loss of bodily functions (including brain function) or serious cuts.

An employer or self-employed person must also notify WorkSafe as soon as they find out about an incident that exposed a person to a serious risk to their health or safety from immediate or imminent exposure to:

• an uncontrolled escape, spill or leak of any substance (in any form), including dangerous goods
• an implosion, explosion, or a fire
• electric shock
• the fall or release from a height of any plant, substance or thing
• the collapse, overturn, failure or malfunction of, or damage to, any plant (including plant in relation to a mine) that is prescribed under the regulations or the design of which must be registered in accordance with the regulations
• the collapse or partial collapse of a building or structure
• the collapse or failure of an excavation or mine or of any shoring supporting an excavation or mine
• the inrush of water, mud or gas in workings in a mine, underground excavation or tunnel
• the interruption of the main system of ventilation in a mine, underground excavation or tunnel
• any other event or circumstance prescribed by regulations.

Within 48 hours of finding out about an incident, the employer or self-employed person must give WorkSafe a written record of what happened. They must keep a copy of this record for at least 5 years and make copies available to:

• a WorkSafe inspector
• people injured or exposed to risk by the incident, and their representatives
• the representatives of anyone who died as a result of the incident, and
• any HSR for the DWG and the members of any health and safety committee.

It is an offence not to comply with these sections and penalties apply.

Preserving incident sites (section 39)

An employer or self-employed person must make sure that the site of a notifiable incident is not disturbed until an inspector directs that it can be. However, a site can be disturbed to protect a person’s health or safety, to help someone who is injured or to make the site safe.

It is an offence not to comply with this section and penalties apply.