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Neighbouring businesses Have neighbouring businesses been considered if an emergency occurs? How would they be advised of an emergency situation arises (if applicable)? Should they be consulted about the preparation and coordination of emergency plans? Have the risks from neighbouring businesses been considered, for example fire from restaurant/takeaway food outlets, Q fever from cattle yards or vehicle accidents on major roads? Post incident follow-up Are there procedures in place to notify the relevant regulator about a notifiable incident where necessary? Are there procedures in place to ensure the cause of the emergency is determined and action is taken to prevent a similar incident occurring again? Are there procedures in place to ensure the welfare of workers after an emergency or an incident, for example medical treatment or trauma counselling? Review Are emergency plan practice runs undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the emergency plan, for example evacuation drills? Is someone responsible for documenting and retaining the results of emergency plan practice runs? Is someone responsible for reviewing the emergency plan and informing workers of any revisions? MODULE 1, TOPIC 1.4, SUBTOPIC 1.4.5: READING E: INFORMATION SHEET – INCIDENT NOTIFICATION Reading E: Information Sheet – Incident Notification This information sheet provides general guidance on mandatory reporting requirements for ‘notifiable incidents’ under Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation. Businesses and undertakings must notify their work health and safety regulator of certain ‘notifiable incidents’ at work. This information sheet will help you decide when you need to notify the regulator of a work-related death, injury, illness or dangerous incident. Work health and safety regulators are committed to preventing work-related deaths and injuries. Notifying the regulator of ‘notifiable incidents’ can help identify causes of incidents and prevent similar incidents at your workplace and other workplaces. The WHS law requires: a ‘notifiable incident’ to be reported to the regulator immediately after becoming aware it has happened if the regulator asks—written notification within 48 hours of the request, and the incident site to be preserved until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise (subject to some exceptions). Failing to report a ‘notifiable incident’ is an offence and penalties apply. What is a ‘notifiable incident’ A ‘notifiable incident’ is: the death of a person a ‘serious injury or illness’, or a ‘dangerous incident’ arising out of the conduct of a business or undertaking at a workplace. ‘Notifiable incidents’ may relate to any person—whether an employee, contractor or member of the public. Serious injury or illness Only the most serious health or safety incidents are notifiable, and only if they are work-related. They trigger requirements to preserve the incident site pending further direction from the regulator. Serious injury or illness must be notified if the person requires any of the types of treatment in the following table: after examples Notification is also required for the following serious illnesses: Any infection where the work is a significant contributing factor. This includes any infection related to carrying out work: with micro-organisms that involves providing treatment or care to a person that involves contact with human blood or body substances that involves handling or contact with animals, animal hides, skins, wool or hair, animal carcasses or animal waste products. The following occupational 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. Treatment ‘Immediate treatment’ means the kind of urgent treatment that would be required for a serious injury or illness. It includes treatment by a registered medical practitioner, a paramedic or registered nurse. ‘Medical treatment’ refers to treatment by a registered medical practitioner (a doctor). Even if immediate treatment is not readily available, for example because the incident site is rural or remote or because the relevant specialist treatment is not available, the notification must still be made. Still unsure? If you are still unsure about whether a particular incident should be notified then contact your regulator for advice or further guidance. Contact details are included below. Dangerous incidents including ‘near misses’ Some types of work-related dangerous incidents must be notified even if no-one is injured. The regulator must be notified of any incident in relation to a workplace that exposes any person to a serious risk resulting 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 electric shock: examples of electrical shock that are not notifiable shock due to static electricity ‘extra low voltage’ shock (i.e. arising from electrical equipment less than or equal to 50V AC and less than or equal to 120V DC) defibrillators are used deliberately to shock a person for first aid or medical reasons examples of electrical shocks that are notifiable minor shock resulting from direct contact with exposed live electrical parts (other than ‘extra low voltage’) including shock from capacitive discharge 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 design or item registered under the Work Health and Safety Regulations, for example a collapsing crane 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, or the interruption of the main system of ventilation in an underground excavation or tunnel. A dangerous incident includes both immediate serious risks to health or safety, and also a risk from an immediate exposure to a substance which is likely to create a serious risk to health or safety in the future, for example asbestos or hazardous chemicals. Only work-related incidents are notifiable To be notifiable, an incident must arise out of the conduct of the business or undertaking. An incident is not notifiable just because it happens at or near a workplace. Incidents may happen for reasons which do not 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. Work-related incidents that occur outside a workplace may be notifiable Work-related incidents may affect people outside the workplace. These may still be notifiable if they involve a death, serious illness or injury or a dangerous incident. For example: an object like a hand tool falls off a multi-storey building under construction hitting a person below scaffold collapse that causes a risk of serious injury to persons adjacent to a construction site an awning over a shop-front collapses, hitting a person underneath it. Appendix A provides more information about incidents at public places or sporting events. Who is responsible for notifying? Any person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) from which the ‘notifiable incident’ arises must ensure the regulator is notified immediately after becoming aware it has happened. Procedures should be put into place to ensure work health and safety incidents are promptly notified to the people responsible for responding to them, for example a manager and then notified to the regulator, if required. Incidents involving multiple businesses or undertakings If a ‘notifiable incident’ arises out of more than one business or undertaking then each must ensure that the incident has been notified to the regulator. There is no need for all duty holders to notify—only one needs to. However, all duty holders retain their responsibility to notify, regardless of any agreement between them. In these circumstances the duty holders must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, cooperate and coordinate to put appropriate reporting and notification arrangements in place. For example contractors at a construction workplace may agree that the principal contractor for the workplace will notify all ‘notifiable incidents’ that occur at the workplace.