There are notifiable incidents, notifiable injury, notifiable illness and notifiable death.. All need to be notified to Worksafe by the fastest means available to you.
- Phoning 0800 030 040
- Complete the Notifiable Incident form
You must immediately;
- Preserve the site
- Notify Worksafe
- Keep records of the event for at least 5 years
Once the notification has been received the response team from Worksafe will guide you from there. If you do not follow the above 3 steps you can be fined for each one. A point to note, ACC and medical practitioners are required to report any notifiable events to Worksafe.
What is a notifiable incident?
A notifiable incident is where someone’s health or safety is seriously endangered or threatened. A notifiable incident may have only resulted in minor injuries or none at all but had the potential to cause serious injury, illness or death. For example;
- a substance escaping, spilling, or leaking
- an implosion, explosion or fire
- gas or steam escaping
- a pressurised substance escaping
- the fall or release from height of any plant, substance, or thing (excludes people)
- damage to or collapse, overturning, failing or malfunctioning of any plant
- the collapse or partial collapse of a structure
- the collapse or failure of an excavation or any shoring supporting an excavation
- the inrush of water, mud, or gas in workings in an underground excavation or tunnel
- the interruption of the main system of ventilation in an underground excavation or tunnel
What is a notifiable injury?
An injury that is a result of work, that requires or would usually require someone to be admitted to hospital for immediate treatment, an injury through exposure to a substance which requires medical treatment within 48 hours. Examples;
- The amputation of any part of the body that requires immediate treatment other than first aid
- A serious head injury that requires immediate treatment, other than first aid
- A serious eye injury that requires immediate treatment, other than first aid
- A serious burn that requires immediate treatment, other than first aid
- A spinal injury that requires immediate treatment, other than first aid
- Loss of a bodily function that requires immediate treatment, other than first aid (eg, through electric shock or acute reaction to a substance used at work)
- Serious lacerations that require immediate treatment, other than first aid
- Skin separating from an underlying tissue (degloving or scalping) that requires immediate treatment, other than first aid
What is a notifiable illness?
When someone becomes ill as a result of work, contracts an illness that requires them to be admitted to hospital, requires medical treatment within 48 hours of being exposed to a hazardous substance, the work contributes to contracting an infection.
- An illness that requires (or would usually require) medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance
- An illness declared in regulations to be a notifiable injury or illness
- An illness that requires or would usually require someone to be admitted to hospital for immediate treatment
- Contracting a serious infection, including occupational zoonosis, to which the carrying out of work is a significant contributing factor including any infection due to carrying out work:
- with micro-organisms
- that involves providing treatment or care to a person
- that involves contact with human blood or bodily substances
- that involves handling or contact with animals, their hides, skins, wool or hair, animal carcasses or waste products, or
- that involves handling or contact with fish or marine mammals
What is a notifiable death?
You only need notify Worksafe if the death is caused by work or conditions at work.
There will soon be a Building Hub app. This will include guides for what to do when an incident/accident occurs on site and give you a quick solution to record details. There is also a Master Hazard Register which will be available to you. The list wont just be a comprehensive list of the hazards faced on site but will also be a substantial tool for toolbox talks, inductions, hazard board management and on site training of your workers. All these tools will be available on the website for those who are really crap with technology and prefer paperwork.
Members can just sit back as we develop the best tools out there for your business. If you are not a member, you only have a week or so before the membership rises from $50 to $100 (excl) per year. Still a bargain for the volume of information and support the team at the Building Hub offers.
