Notifiable Events

Wednesday September 29, 2021 10:45

The Health and Safety At Work Act 2015 requires a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to report all notifiable events to WorkSafe NZ without delay.

Clause 56. Duty to notify notifiable event

1. A PCBU must, as soon as possible after becoming aware that a notifiable event arising out of the conduct of the business or undertaking has occurred, ensure that the regulator is notified of the event.

A notifiable event can be either a significant incident, a serious injury, illness, or death.

• Notifiable incidents can involve:
  A fire, explosion, collapse of a structure or excavation, a spillage or collision etc.
• Notifiable injury or illness can involve:
  Hospitalisation, amputation, serious head injury, a serious eye injury or burn, infection (including occupational zoonoses) including any infection that is attributable to carrying out work etc.

A more complete listing of classifications can be found on the WorkSafe NZ website at https://worksafe.govt.nz

WorkSafe NZ now require all notifiable events to be reported via their on-line reporting system which is accessed at the aforementioned website.

A serious injury occurring to a person at work can have a devasting effect on a person’s life and family. The first priority should always be to ensure that prompt and effective care is provided.

A procedure for dealing with a Medical Emergency should be established including the location of the nearest Medical Centre and/or doctor as well as the location of local Defibrillator unit(s).

A serious injury can also have a distressing impact on the PCBU and its officers and make it a difficult and trying time to follow the correct reporting procedure to the Regulator.

As a client of Securo you are provided with up to 2 hours of support per contract year at no additional cost, in the event of a serious harm incident occurring. Our consultants are experienced in this process and can also assist with accident investigations should they be required.

Please contact your consultant and/or Securo helpline on 0800 55 33 44

For your information we have provided below a step-by-step guide to the WorkSafe NZ reporting process:

1. Go to https://worksafe.govt.nz and follow the prompts as below:
2. Select notify WorkSafe NZ: Four categories will come up:
   DEATH - INJURY - ILLNESS - INCIDENT
   Select category applicable (E.g., Injury)
3. “Do you need to notify WorkSafe NZ”?
   When you select the category, you will need to answer a series of initial questions to determine if the accident is notifiable. Or you can check what type of events are notifiable on their website: What events need to be notified?
4. Once you have completed the initial questions, if the accident isn’t notifiable – WorkSafe NZ will tell you and you can exit the site and file a report in your Organisation’s Accident Register. If it is, continue and complete the next stage.
5. 6 steps will come up to enter details of the accident, the person involved, the medical treatment received and how the accident occurred.
   The final step is “Review and Submit”.

Your Securo consultant should also be contacted for advice and guidance on the process.