To report an incident to WorkSafe Tasmania immediately, phone 1300 366 322. Outside our normal business hours, your call will divert to a duty officer.
If you are calling from outside Tasmania, phone (03) 6166 4600.
You must follow this up within 48 hours by lodging this online form:
This online form replaces the PDF form that WorkSafe previously required you to submit.
If you experience any issues in completing the online form, please contact the Helpline to get a printable form emailed to you.
Incident notification for COVID-19
Employers must notify WorkSafe Tasmania when it is confirmed that a person has contracted COVID-19 through carrying out work and:
- the person dies; or
- the person is required to have treatment as an in-patient in a hospital; or
- the reason the person contracted COVID-19 is reliably attributable to carrying out work that involves providing treatment or care to a person; or involves contact with human blood or body substances. In this case, the carrying out of work must be a significant contributing factor to the infection being contracted.
Notification must be made immediately after the employer becomes aware of the incident. Notification is made by calling WorkSafe Tasmania on 1300 366 322 or by submitting WorkSafe Tasmania’s incident notification form.
Notification is required regardless of whether the Department of Health/Public Health Services is already aware of the case. Regulation 699 is the relevant regulation for incident notification of a serious illness.
Preservation of incident sites
Persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure (so far as is reasonably practicable) that the site where a notifiable incident occurred is not disturbed until an inspector arrives at the site, or any earlier time that an inspector directs.
The following situations are exempt from this requirement:
- to assist an injured person
- to remove a deceased person
- when it is essential to make the site safe or to reduce the risk of a further notifiable incident happening
- when it is associated with a police investigation
- when an inspector or the regulator gives permission.
What incidents must be reported?
You must notify WorkSafe Tasmania if any of the following incidents have occurred in the workplace:
- a death, or
- someone suffers a serious injury or illness, or
- a dangerous incident.
Electric shocks must also be reported to TasNetworks on 13 2004.
What incidents don't need reporting?
An incident is not notifiable just because it happens at or near a workplace. To be notifiable, an incident must arise out of the conduct of the business or undertaking.
Only work-related incidents are notifiable.
Incidents may happen for reasons that don’t have anything to do with work or the conduct of the business or undertaking. For example:
- a worker or another person suffers a heart attack while at work, which is unrelated to work or the conduct of the business or undertaking
- an amateur athlete is injured while playing for the local soccer team and requires immediate medical treatment (this is not work)
- a person driving to work is injured in a car accident (where driving is not part of their work)
- a person with epilepsy has a seizure at work.
These kinds of incidents are not notifiable.
Serious injury or illness
It means an injury or illness requiring the person to have:
a) immediate treatment as an in-patient in a hospital; or
b) immediate treatment for:
- the amputation of any part of their body
- a serious head injury
- a serious eye injury
- a serious burn
- the separation of their skin from underlying tissue (such as degloving or scalping)
- a spinal injury
- the loss of a bodily function
- serious lacerations; or
c) medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance.
It is important to note that the treatment under (b) and (c) does not have to be as an in-patient in a hospital.
For more detail on serious injury and illness, read Safe Work Australia’s fact sheet (see Resources below).
Dangerous incidents
The Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (external link) defines a 'dangerous incident' as a workplace incident that exposes a worker (or any other person) to a serious risk to their health or safety, emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to:
- an uncontrolled escape, spillage or leakage of a substance, or
- an uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fire, or
- an uncontrolled escape of gas or steam, or
- an uncontrolled escape of a pressurised substance, or
- electric shock, or
- the fall or release from a height of any plant, substance or thing; or
- the collapse, overturning, failure or malfunction of or damage to any plant that must be authorised for use, or
- the collapse/partial collapse of a structure, or
- the collapse or failure of an excavation or of any shoring supporting an excavation; or
- the inrush of water, mud or gas in workings, an underground excavation or tunnel, or
- the interruption of the main system of ventilation in an underground excavation or tunnel.
Record keeping
The PCBU must keep a record of each notifiable incident for at least five years from the day that notice of the incident is given to the regulator.
A PCBU who fails to notify can be required to pay a significant penalty.
Incidents involving an injury or illness where workers compensation could be claimed must be reported to the employer's licensed insurer within 3 days of becoming aware of the incident.
Workers compensation
Where an injury results from an incident, the injured worker may claim workers compensation. Follow the process detailed in:
Resources
WorkSafe Tasmania resources
Emotional support resources in the event of an incident: If you, your workers or their families have witnessed, been involved in or been affected by a workplace incident, please see our resources.
Other resources
Incident notification fact sheet: Safe Work Australia (external link)