Notifiable incident checker

Check whether a death, injury, illness or near miss must be reported to your WHS regulator, how fast, who to call, and what to do with the site and records.

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

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

Did the injury or illness involve any of these?

Treatment by a doctor or in hospital. First aid alone usually doesn’t count.

Your answer

Is it notifiable?

Check with the regulator

Tick what applies, or ‘None of these’. If you can’t tell, call the regulator and ask.

Contact SafeWork NSW

13 10 50

Notification page

How and when

  1. Notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of the incident, by the fastest possible means: phone or in writing (s 38).
  2. If you phone, give the details the regulator asks for, and a written notice within 48 hours if the regulator requires it.

Preserve the site

  • Don’t disturb the site until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise, except to help an injured person, remove a deceased person, make the site safe or prevent another incident, for a police investigation, or with the regulator’s permission (s 39).

Keep a record

  • Keep a record of the incident for at least 5 years from the day you notified the regulator (s 38(7)).
  • The prescribed illnesses follow the model regulations (r 699). Check your jurisdiction’s regulations for any local variation.
  • Safe Work Australia published model changes in December 2025 that would add violent incidents, work-related suicides and long absences. They only apply once a jurisdiction adopts them, so check with your regulator whether anything has changed where you are.

General information, not legal advice. When in doubt, notify.

How this works

WHS Acts (all states and territories except Victoria, plus Comcare): s 35 defines a notifiable incident, s 36 serious injury or illness, s 37 dangerous incidents, s 38 the duty to notify and keep records for 5 years, and s 39 site preservation. Western Australia adds two serious injury triggers, and the ACT updated its wording from 19 November 2025.

Victoria: ss 37–39 of the OHS Act 2004, with a written record to WorkSafe within 48 hours of every notification.

Unsure answers lead to “check with the regulator”, never to “not notifiable”. Phone numbers were checked against each regulator’s site on 5 November 2026.

Legal basis

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

Questions

What is a notifiable incident?

A death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident arising out of the work. Serious injuries are defined by the treatment needed, such as admission to hospital as an in-patient or immediate treatment for an amputation, serious head or eye injury, serious burn, spinal injury or serious lacerations. Victoria’s list is similar but includes electric shock and leaves out serious burns.

How quickly do I have to notify?

Immediately after becoming aware of it, by the fastest means available, usually by phone. Under the WHS Acts the regulator may then ask for a written notice within 48 hours. In Victoria you must always give WorkSafe a written record within 48 hours.

Can I clean up the site?

Not until an inspector arrives or tells you otherwise, except to help an injured person, make the site safe or prevent another incident (and, under the WHS Acts, to remove a deceased person, for a police investigation or with the regulator’s permission).

What if no one was hurt?

It can still be notifiable as a dangerous incident, for example an uncontrolled explosion or fire, a gas leak, an electric shock, a structure or trench collapse, or something falling from height, if it exposed someone to a serious risk.

Is a first aid injury notifiable?

Usually not. Notification depends on the treatment needed, not on how the injury happened. Western Australia also counts injuries a doctor expects to keep the person off normal work for at least 10 days.

Related tools

All tools
CheckerPsychosocial risk self-assessmentRate the 14 common psychosocial hazards to build a ranked risk register, with the psychosocial regulations that apply in your state or territory.Open checker CalculatorWorkplace amenities calculatorWork out the toilets, urinals, washbasins and drinking water points a workplace should have from its headcount, under the code of practice for your state.Open calculator CalculatorFirst aid requirements calculatorWork out how many trained first aiders, first aid kits and rooms a workplace needs from its size, risk level and location, under your state’s first aid code.Open calculator

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.

See plans