When must you report a notifiable incident?
A notifiable incident is one the WHS Act says the regulator must hear about. Notify immediately, by the fastest means. If the regulator asks, give written notice within 48 hours. Keep the record for 5 years. Victoria's OHS Act and New Zealand's Act set their own versions, shown below.
Every state's three duties
Notify, give written notice, keep the record. Each row is that jurisdiction's own Act, and links to every duty the library holds from it.
| State | Notify the regulator | Written notice | Keep the record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland | Notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incidents 38(1)-(3) | 48 hourss 38(4) | 5 yearss 38(7) |
| New South Wales | Notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incidents 38(1)-(3) | 48 hourss 38(4) | 5 yearss 38(7) |
| Victoria | Notify WorkSafe immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incidents 38(1), (2) | 48 hourss 38(3) | 5 yearss 38(4) |
| Western Australia | Notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incidents 38(1)-(3) | 48 hourss 38(4) | 5 yearss 38(7) |
| South Australia | Notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incidents 38(1)-(3) | 48 hourss 38(4) | 5 yearss 38(7) |
| Tasmania | Notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incidents 38(1)-(3) | 48 hourss 38(4) | 5 yearss 38(7) |
| Australian Capital Territory | Notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incidents 38(1)-(3) | 48 hourss 38(4) | 5 yearss 38(7) |
| Northern Territory | Notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incidents 38(1)-(3) | 48 hourss 38(4) | 5 yearss 38(7) |
| New Zealand | |||
| New Zealand | Notify WorkSafe NZ as soon as possible after becoming aware of a notifiable events 56(1) | 48 hourss 56(3)(b) | 5 yearss 57(1) |
What the clock runs from
Runs from the regulator's requirement, not from the incident. In Victoria it is different: Runs from when the duty to notify arose, whether or not WorkSafe asks.
The incident site must also be left undisturbed until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise (s 39), not recorded as its own row.
What counts as notifiable
Each Act defines its own list, and the library holds the duties that follow it, not the definitions. Where a jurisdiction widens or narrows the list, the library notes it:
- Australian Capital TerritoryThe ACT widens the model: a sexual assault incident, a serious fall and mobile plant incidents are notifiable, evidence must be preserved with the site, and the s 38 and s 39 duty holders must each tell the other immediately (s 39A).
- Western AustraliaWA widens serious injury (s 36(1)(d), (e)): an injury in a remote location needing urgent transfer, or one a doctor expects to keep the worker from normal work for 10 days or more.
- VictoriaVictoria is not harmonised: no notice is needed where the notifier is the only person harmed (s 38(2)), and the 48-hour written record is required every time, not only on request.
- New ZealandA notifiable event is a death, a notifiable injury or illness (s 23) or a notifiable incident (s 24) - a narrower and differently-worded list than the AU model Act's.
The penalty for not notifying
As the library records it for each jurisdiction's notification duty.
- QueenslandMaximum penalty 100 penalty units.
- New South WalesMaximum penalty 607 penalty units (body corporate).
- VictoriaMaximum penalty 1200 penalty units (body corporate, indictable).
- Western AustraliaMaximum penalty $55,000 (body corporate).
- South Australia and TasmaniaMaximum penalty $50,000 (body corporate).
- Australian Capital TerritoryMaximum penalty tier D, $70,000 base, indexed (strict liability).
- Northern TerritoryMaximum penalty $50,000 (body corporate, strict liability).
- New ZealandMaximum penalty $10,000 for an individual, $50,000 for any other person including a body corporate.
What follows the incident
Keep the safe work method statement for at least 2 years after a notifiable incident in connection with the work it covers (s 303(2) in New South Wales). Every keeping period is on records, and the SWMS duties are on SWMS.
What this page is, and is not
It is the section text this library holds for each state's WHS law, with the window and the consequence. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the Act, the Regulation and the contract you signed.
No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.