In Queensland a notifiable incident is the death of a person, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident (section 35 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)). If one arises out of your business, you must make sure the regulator is told immediately (section 38). You can notify by phone or in writing.
This guide walks through sections 35 to 39 of the Act in plain English: what counts, what does not, who has to report, what to do with the site, and how long to keep the paperwork. “Person conducting a business or undertaking” (PCBU) is the Act’s term for your business, whether you are a sole trader, a contractor or a company.
The three kinds of notifiable incident
Section 35 lists three things, and only these three:
- the death of a person
- a serious injury or illness of a person
- a dangerous incident
The person who died or was hurt does not have to be your employee. A subcontractor, a visitor or a member of the public counts if the incident arises out of the conduct of your business (section 38(1)).
What is a serious injury or illness?
Section 36 says it is an injury or illness that needs the person to have:
- immediate treatment as an in-patient in a hospital, or
- immediate treatment for an amputation, a serious head injury, a serious eye injury, a serious burn, the separation of skin from underlying tissue (such as degloving or scalping), a spinal injury, the loss of a bodily function, or serious lacerations, or
- medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance.
Section 36 also picks up illnesses prescribed in the Regulation. Regulation 699 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) lists infections where work is a significant contributing factor (for example from microorganisms, from treating or caring for a person, from contact with human blood or body substances, or from handling animals or animal products) and these zoonoses when contracted through work involving contact with animals or animal products: Q fever, anthrax, leptospirosis, brucellosis, Hendra virus, avian influenza and psittacosis.
Plain-English examples
These are illustrations, not an official list:
- A labourer loses a fingertip to a saw (amputation).
- A roofer falls and is admitted to hospital (in-patient treatment).
- A steel fragment goes into a grinder operator’s eye and needs immediate treatment (serious eye injury).
- A worker is splashed with hot bitumen and needs treatment for a serious burn.
- A worker breathes in chemical fumes and gets medical treatment the same day (treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance).
- An abattoir worker is diagnosed with Q fever (a prescribed illness under regulation 699).
What is a dangerous incident?
A dangerous incident is one that happens in relation to a workplace and exposes a worker or anyone else to a serious risk to health or safety from an immediate or imminent exposure to one of these (section 37):
- 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
- the fall or release from a height of any plant, substance or thing
- the collapse, overturning, failure or malfunction of, or damage to, plant that needs to be authorised for use under the Regulation (registrable plant such as a tower crane, for example)
- the collapse or partial collapse of a structure
- the collapse or failure of an excavation or of the shoring holding it up
- the inrush of water, mud or gas in an underground excavation or tunnel
- the interruption of the main ventilation system in an underground excavation or tunnel
- any other event prescribed under a regulation
The key words are “serious risk” and “immediate or imminent”. A trench wall that caves in beside workers can be a dangerous incident (section 37(i)). So can a load that falls from a crane into a work area (section 37(f)). A small tidy-up after a contained spill that never put anyone at risk is probably not.
Electrical incidents have their own matching duty. Section 292 of the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld) requires a PCBU to make sure the regulator is notified immediately of a serious electrical incident or dangerous electrical event, with the same 48-hour written notice rule and 5-year record rule. The Electrical Safety Office handles those.
What is not a notifiable incident?
If it does not fit sections 35 to 37, the notification duty in section 38 does not apply. That usually means:
- cuts, bruises, strains and sprains treated with first aid or a doctor’s visit, with no in-patient admission and none of the injuries listed in section 36
- near misses that did not expose anyone to a serious risk of the kind listed in section 37
- incidents that did not arise out of the conduct of your business
Two cautions. First, “not notifiable” does not mean “ignore it”. Record it, investigate it and fix the cause. Second, if you are not sure, ring the regulator and ask. The regulator’s own guidance invites that call, and it costs far less than a missed notification, which carries a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units ($10,000 under this Act).
Workers’ compensation is a separate track. Notifying the regulator is not the same as reporting a worker’s injury to the insurer. Section 133 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) has its own employer reporting duty, so check with WorkCover Queensland as well.
How and when to notify
- When: immediately after you become aware that a notifiable incident arising out of your business has occurred (section 38(1)).
- How: by the fastest possible means, by phone or in writing. The Act says written notice can be given by email or other electronic means (section 38(2) and (3)).
- By phone: give the details the regulator asks for. If the regulator requires it, you must also give a written notice within 48 hours of that requirement being made (section 38(4)). The clock starts when the regulator asks, not when the incident happened.
- In writing: use the form or details the regulator approves (section 38(5)).
- Acknowledgement: if you phone and no written notice is needed, the regulator must give you details of the information received or an acknowledgement (section 38(6)). Keep it.
Notifications go to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (or the Electrical Safety Office for an electrical incident). The WorkSafe Queensland incident notification page lists the phone number, 1300 362 128, and an online option. Check worksafe.qld.gov.au for the current details before you rely on a number.
Do not disturb the site (section 39)
The person with management or control of the workplace must, so far as is reasonably practicable, make sure the incident site is not disturbed until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise. The “site” includes any plant, substance, structure or thing connected with the incident. The maximum penalty is 100 penalty units.
You can still act to:
- help an injured person
- remove a deceased person
- do what is essential to make the site safe or to stop a further notifiable incident
- do anything linked to a police investigation
- do anything an inspector or the regulator has given permission for
The first hour: a short checklist
- Make people safe. Give first aid, call 000 if needed, stop the work and isolate the plant.
- Leave the scene as it is, apart from what section 39 allows. Cordon it off. Take photos only if it is safe.
- Decide if it is notifiable against sections 35 to 37. If in doubt, ring the regulator.
- Notify the regulator immediately and write down who you spoke to, the time and any reference or acknowledgement.
- Tell your supervisor, manager and the principal contractor or host business if there is one.
- List witnesses and get short statements while memories are fresh.
- Secure the paperwork: the SWMS, risk assessments, inspection records and plant logbooks for the job.
Records: how the form and register fit in
Section 38(7) says you must keep a record of each notifiable incident for at least 5 years from the day you give notice to the regulator. The maximum penalty is 50 penalty units. A simple system covers it:
- Everyone fills in an incident report form for every injury, incident and near miss.
- Each report becomes a line in your incident register, with a column that says whether it was notifiable.
- For notifiable incidents, add the date and time you notified, who you spoke to, the reference or acknowledgement, and a “keep until” date at least 5 years out.
- Attach the investigation and the actions you took.
Our free incident report form template (Word) covers step 1, and the incident management policy and procedure template sets out who does what. Registers are in the safety registers range. If the work was high risk construction work, regulation 303 also requires the SWMS to be kept for at least 2 years after the incident. Our guide to high risk construction work explains it.
For the wider picture, read why you must report and record all workplace injuries and why near misses matter.
A word on industrial manslaughter
Part 2A of the Act (sections 34A to 34E) deals with industrial manslaughter, which is a crime in Queensland. Under section 34C, a PCBU commits the offence if an individual it owes a health and safety duty to dies (or is injured and later dies), its conduct causes the death and it is negligent about causing it. Section 34D applies the same test to a senior officer of a PCBU. Conduct causes death if it substantially contributes to it (section 34A(2)). The maximum penalty under section 34C is 20 years’ imprisonment for an individual, or 100,000 penalty units ($10 million) for a body corporate. Under section 34D it is 20 years’ imprisonment. It is a good reason to handle the first hour properly. Having an emergency plan helps.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law or talk to WorkSafe Queensland for your situation.
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