In this editorial, Steve Darnley from the WorkSafe Victoria construction team writes about the incident notification requirements in Victoria. The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) requires notification to WorkSafe regarding serious workplace incidents.  

The duty to notify applies to: an employer who has management and control of the workplace, or a self-employed person who has management and control of the workplace.

The OHS Act requires an employer or a self-employed person to immediately notify WorkSafe after becoming aware of an incident at their workplace.

Notifiable incidents include:

• the death of a person
• a person requiring treatment by a medical practitioner within 48 hours of exposure to a substance
• a person requiring immediate medical treatment as an in-patent in a hospital
• a person requiring immediate medical treatment for a serious injury (e.g. amputation or serious laceration)
• various incidents where a person was exposed to an immediate risk, such as:
• collapse or failure of an excavation
• implosion, explosion or fire
• collapse or partial collapse of a building or structure.

It is important to note that the duty-holder responsible to notify WorkSafe may or may not be the direct employer of the person injured or exposed to the immediate risk.  For example, on a construction site, the builder who has management and control of the site would typically be the responsible duty-holder for notifying WorkSafe. When the incident involves a sub-contractor’s employee, the sub-contractor may also have a concurrent duty to notify.  

To avoid any doubt, a sub-contractor should also notify WorkSafe.  

For more information see the WorkSafe Guide to incident notification. 

Following a notifiable incident, the employer or self-employed person who has the duty to notify must ensure that the site is not disturbed until a WorkSafe inspector attends or permits it, except to:

• protect the health and safety of a person, or  
• provide aid to the injured person, or  
• take essential action to make the site safe, or
• prevent a further occurrence of the incident.

The employer or self-employed person who has the duty to notify must also provide WorkSafe with a written record of the incident within 48 hours.

Incidents can be notified to WorkSafe by phone on 132 360 and the written incident report can be completed and lodged online through the WorkSafe website -  www.worksafe.vic.gov.au.