Appendix 1: What is a notifiable incident?

Appendix to WHS-PRO-005 WHS Incident Hazard Management Procedure

A ‘notifiable incident’ includes:

• The death of a person
• A ‘serious injury or illness’,
• A ‘dangerous incident’,
• A ‘serious electrical incident’,
• A ‘dangerous electrical event’.

Serious injury or illness:

• an injury or illness requiring a person to have:
• Immediate treatment as an in-patient in a hospital
• immediate treatment
  • the amputation of any part of his or her body
  • a serious head injury
  • a serious eye injury
  • a serious burn
  • the separation of skin from an underlying tissue (such as degloving or scalping)
  • a spinal injury
  • the loss of a bodily function
  • serious lacerations
• medical treatment within 48hrs of exposure to a substance
• An infection to which the carrying out of work was a significant contributing factor, including any infection reliably attributable to carrying out work:
• with micro-organisms
• that involved providing treatment or care to a person
• that involved contact with human blood or body substances
• that involved handling or contact with animals, animal hides, skins, wool or hair, animal carcasses or animal waste products
• The following zoonoses contracted in the course of work involving handling or contact with animals, animal hides, skins, wool or hair, animal carcasses or animal waste products:
• Q fever
• Anthrax
• Leptospirosis
• Brucellosis
• Hendra virus
• Avian Influenza
• Psittacosis

Dangerous Incident

A dangerous incident that exposed a worker or any other person to a serious risk to a person's health or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to:

• an uncontrolled escape, spillage or leakage of a substance
• an uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fire
• an uncontrolled escape of gas or steam
• an uncontrolled escape of a pressurised substance
• an electric shock
• the fall or release from a height of any plant, substance or thing
• the collapse, overturning, failure or malfunction of, or damage to, any plant that is required to be authorised for use in accordance with the regulations
• the collapse or partial collapse of a structure
• the collapse or failure of an excavation or of 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

Serious Electrical Incident

A serious electrical incident involving electrical equipment where:

• a person is killed by electricity;
• a person receives a shock or injury from electricity, and is treated for the shock or injury by or under the supervision of a doctor; or
• a person receives a shock or injury from electricity at high voltage, whether or not the person is treated for the shock or injury by or under the supervision of a doctor (high voltage means a voltage greater than 1,000V AC  RMS or 1,500V ripple-free DC)

Dangerous Electrical Event

A dangerous electrical event is any of the following:

• the coming into existence of circumstances in which a person was not electrically safe, if the circumstances involve high voltage electrical equipment; and despite the coming into existence of the circumstances, the person does not receive a shock or injury (high voltage means a voltage above 1,000V AC RMS or 1,500V ripple-free DC);
• the coming into existence of both of the following circumstances (1) if a person had been at a particular place at a particular time, the person would not have been electrically safe and (2) the person would not have been electrically safe because of circumstances involving high voltage electrical equipment (high voltage means a voltage above 1,000V AC RMS or 1,500V ripple-free DC);
• an event that involves electrical equipment and in which significant property damage was caused directly by electricity or originating from electricity;
• the performance of electrical work by a person not authorised under an electrical work licence to perform the work;
• the performance of electrical work by a person if, as a result of the performance of the work, a person or property was not electrically safe;
• the discovery by a licensed electrical worker of electrical equipment that has not been marked as required under the Electrical Safety Act 2002.