Incident investigation builder

Draft an incident investigation report: what happened, notification, the sequence of events, immediate and contributing causes, the root cause and corrective actions in hierarchy order.

Figures checked 5 November 2026. Free to use, no sign-in.

The incident

Victoria and Western Australia have their own Acts; the tool switches to them.

Notification

Was it a notifiable incident?

Not sure? Use the notifiable incident checker.

Analysis

Corrective action 1

Sign-off

Incident investigation report

Check before you use it

  • Use the notifiable incident checker (/tools/notifiable-incident-checker) to confirm whether the regulator must be told.
  • Officers must make sure the business has processes to receive and respond to incident information (s 27(5)(d) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)).
  • Stick to facts and causes. An investigation is about preventing a repeat, not assigning blame.
  • Replace every [bracketed] item and delete defaults that don’t fit your workplace.
  • Check the current law and guidance from SafeWork NSW before relying on the document.
Business (PCBU)[Business name]
Reference[Incident number]
Date and time[Date]
Location[Where it happened]
Investigated by[Name and position]
Report date[Report date]
JurisdictionNew South Wales

Notification and site rules: ss 35–39 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW). Corrective actions follow the hierarchy of control measures (s 36 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)). This is a draft prepared from the details entered. It does not by itself show that your obligations are met: check it against your workplace, consult the people who will use it, and update it when things change.

1. What happened

[A factual description of the incident]

People involved and witnesses: [Names and roles]

Injury, illness or damage: [Nature of any injury, illness, near miss or damage]

2. Notifying the regulator

Not yet confirmed whether this must be notified to SafeWork NSW. Check it now: notice must be given immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incident.

3. Sequence of events

  1. [Events in order, from before the incident to the response]

4. Immediate causes

  • [The acts or conditions that directly led to the incident]

5. Contributing factors

[Factors under people, workplace, equipment, procedures and organisation]

6. Root cause

Root cause: [The underlying cause that, if fixed, prevents this happening again]

7. Corrective actions (most effective first)

[Corrective actions, starting with eliminating the hazard]

8. Follow-up

Check by [follow-up date] that each action is done and working. Update the risk assessment and any procedures it affects, and tell the workers involved what was found and changed.

Sign-off

Investigated byName ____________ Signature ____________ Date ________
Reviewed by (manager or officer)Name ____________ Signature ____________ Date ________

Draft prepared with a free tool. Tailor it before use. General information, not legal advice.

Highlighted text in [brackets] still needs your input. Nothing you type is saved or sent. General information, not legal advice.

How this works

The report records the facts, then works back from the immediate causes through contributing factors (people, workplace, equipment, procedures and organisation) to a root cause. Corrective actions are listed most effective first, following the hierarchy of controls.

The notification section follows ss 35–39 of the WHS Act for your state or territory (Western Australia’s Act uses the same numbers), or ss 37–39 of Victoria’s OHS Act 2004. If you’re not sure whether the incident must be reported, the report says so and points you to the notifiable incident checker.

Not included: the regulator’s notification form, workers compensation claims, and legal privilege. Get advice before investigating an incident that may lead to a prosecution.

Legal basis

Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us.

Questions

Do I have to investigate every workplace incident?

The WHS Acts don’t use the word “investigate”, but they require you to eliminate or minimise risks and to review controls when they fail, including after a notifiable incident. Officers must make sure the business has processes for receiving and responding to incident information (s 27(5)(d) of the model WHS Act). An investigation is how you find out what to fix.

What records must I keep after a notifiable incident?

Under s 38(7) of the WHS Act (the same in WA), keep a record of each notifiable incident for at least 5 years from the day the regulator was notified. In Victoria, give WorkSafe a written record within 48 hours of notifying and keep a copy for at least 5 years (s 38(3)–(4) of the OHS Act 2004).

Can we clean up the site straight away?

Not after a notifiable incident. The site must be preserved until an inspector releases it (or arrives, or directs otherwise, in Victoria). You may still help an injured person, make the site safe and prevent a further incident, and under the model laws remove a deceased person and assist police.

Why are corrective actions sorted by type?

The hierarchy of controls ranks them: eliminating the hazard first, then substitution, isolation and engineering controls, then administrative controls, with PPE last. Actions that rely only on rules, training or PPE are flagged so you can record why better controls aren’t reasonably practicable.

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Questions the calculator can’t answer?

Workfloor answers pay, award, leave and termination questions for your team, with the Fair Work Act section or award clause behind each answer.

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