In Australia, the reporting of WHS notifiable incidents is governed by the Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws, which are harmonised across most states and territories. Under the WHS laws, notifiable incidents include the following:
- The death of a person
- A serious injury or illness of a person
- A dangerous incident that exposes a person to a serious risk to their health or safety
These incidents must be reported to the relevant work health and safety regulator as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the incident. In South Australia, the regulator is Safework SA, in the Northern Territory the regulator is NT WorkSafe. In order to notify the regulators of a notifiable incident in the workplace, businesses can contact them via:
SafeWork SA
Life threatening issues or a death
Ph: 1800 777 209 (statewide – 24 hours)
Non-life threatening injuries/issues
Ph: 1300 365 255
Or complete a notifiable incident form on the website- https://www.safework.sa.gov.au/notify/workplace-incident
NT WorkSafe
Ph: 1800 019 115
Or complete a notifiable incident form on the website- NT Worksafe incident-notification-requirements.
The regulators will need to know details of the incident (date, time, location, what exactly happened), the current status of the individual(s) involved and what has been done since the incident occurred.
In addition to reporting the incident, the employer is also required to preserve the incident site until an inspector arrives or provides permission to remove anything from the site.
Notifiable incidents are important for ensuring that regulatory authorities are aware of potential risks and can take appropriate action to protect the health and safety of workers in the workplace. They also help to identify trends and patterns that may require further investigation and action.
