A ‘notifiable incident’ is:
- if someone dies
- a serious injury or illness, or
- a dangerous incident that exposes someone to a serious risk (even if is a ‘near miss’ or if no one is injured).
An incident is only a notifiable incident if it happens as a result of work. For example, if an elderly patient dies of natural causes in a hospital, this is not a notifiable incident. However, if a patient dies due to a medication mix-up, this is a notifiable incident.
If a notifiable incident occurs, you must:
- report it to the WHS regulator immediately after you become aware it has happened, and
- preserve the incident site until an inspector arrives or directs you otherwise. This doesn’t prevent you helping an injured person, removing a deceased person, making the site safer, or assisting with a police investigation.
Call 000 if there is an immediate risk to life.
Contact your WHS regulator for advice on how to make a notification.
You can find more information on incident notification in the incident notification information sheet.