• In an emergency
• Reporting an incident
• Recording and investigating non-notifiable incidents
• When there is a death in the workplace
  • Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
  • Queensland Police Service
  • Coroner
  • Making funeral arrangements
  • Payment of superannuation benefits
  • Claims for workers' compensation
  • Getting further help

• Workers' compensation
• Laws and prosecutions
• Workplace inspections
• Risk management

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Reporting an incident

How to report an incident
Who needs to report a workplace incident?
Penalties for failing to report
Definitions

Part 10 of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2008 requires certain people to notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland of a:

• serious bodily injury
• work caused illness
• dangerous event

How to report an incident

Notification in the approved form is required within 24 hours of being aware of a notifiable incident happening.

If the incident involves a death, immediate notification is required by phone 1300 369 915.

A Workplace Health and Safety Queensland Inspector is on call 24 hours.

Note! If multiple persons are injured you will be required to use the 'print' version of the approved form.

• Print the approved form (PDF, 58 kB) and fax it to the department
  
  OR
  
  

• Fill in the form online

You must also keep a copy of the form for your records for 1 year after the event.

Who needs to report a workplace incident?

Persons conducting a business or undertaking (relevant persons) have a legal obligation to report a notifiable workplace incident.

'Relevant persons' include but are not limited to:

• employers
• self employed persons.

For a workplace where construction work is being performed and a principal contractor has been appointed for the work the principal contractor has a legal obligation to report a notifiable workplace incident. The relevant person must:

• immediately notify the principal contractor for the workplace that the workplace incident has happened; and
• give the principal contractor any help the principal contractor may reasonably require to complete the approved form.

In the event of a death occurring, the following person must report the incident:

• if the death is the relevant person - the person next in charge
• if the death is anyone other than the relevant person - the relevant person
• if the death occurred at a workplace where construction work is being performed and a principal contractor is appointed - the principal contractor.

There could be some instances when more than one person needs to report the incident.

Penalties for failing to report

The maximum penalty for failing to notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is 20 penalty units which is $2,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a corporation.

Persons conducting a business or undertaking who fail to notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland or make a record of a particular incident at the workplace will not commit an offence if they:

• did not know about the incident
• were incapacitated by the work caused illness or work injury; and
• notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and make a record as soon as possible after recovery.

Definitions

Notifiable incident means an incident resulting in -

• a person suffering a work injury that is a serious bodily injury
• a person suffering a work caused illness
• a dangerous event.

Work injury means:

• an injury to a person that requires first aid or medical treatment if the injury was caused by a workplace, a relevant workplace area, a work activity, or plant or substances for use at a relevant place; or
• the recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of an existing injury in a person if -
  • first aid or medical treatment is required for the injury; and
  • a workplace, a relevant workplace area, a work activity, or plant or substance for use at relevant place caused the recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration; or
• any serious bodily injury, if the injury was caused by a workplace, a relevant workplace area, a work activity, or plant or substances for use at a relevant place.

Serious bodily injury means an injury to a person that causes -

• the injured person's death; or
• the loss of a distinct part or an organ of the injured person's body; or
• the injured person to be absent from the person's voluntary or paid employment for more than four working days.

Work caused illness means -

• an illness contracted by a person to which a workplace, a relevant workplace area, a work activity, or plant or substance for use at a relevant place was a significant contributing factor; or
• the recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration in a person of an existing illness if a workplace, a relevant workplace area, a work activity, or plant or substance for use at a relevant place was a significant contributing factor to the recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration.

Dangerous event means an event caused by specified high risk plant or an event at a workplace or relevant workplace area, if the event involves or could have involved exposure of persons to risk to their health and safety because of -

• collapse, overturning, failure or malfunction of, or damage to, an item of specified high risk plant; or
• collapse, or failure of an excavation or of any shoring supporting an excavation; or
• collapse, or partial collapse of any structure; or
• damage to any load bearing member of, or the failure of any brake, steering device or other control device of, a crane, hoist, conveyor, lift or escalator; or
• implosion, explosion or fire; or
• escape, spillage or leakage of any hazardous material or dangerous goods; or
• fall or release from a height of any plant, substance or object; or
• damage to a boiler, pressure vessel or refrigeration plant; or
• uncontrolled explosion, fire or escape of gas or steam.

Workplace Controller

This is the person who had primary responsibility for the workplace at the time of the incident. It is not necessarily the person who was in control of the work. For a place where construction work is being carried out it will be the principal contractor, (usually the builder) if one has been appointed. For a workplace being visited by a worker (for example a courier driver) it will be the business being visited. For a labour hire employee it will be the placement company

Major accident under the Dangerous Goods Safety Management Act 2001 (DGSM Act) is a sudden occurrence (including, in particular, a major emission, loss of containment, fire, explosion or release of energy) leading to immediate or delayed serious harm or with the potential for serious harm from hazardous materials. Serious harm is harm that -

• causes the death of a person; or
• impairs a person to such an extent that because of the harm the person becomes an overnight or longer stay patient in a hospital; or
• results in costs of more than $50,000 being incurred to prevent, minimise or repair harm to property or the environment.

Major hazard facility facility is a facility that is classified by the chief executive under Part 4 Division 1 of the DGSM Act.