Incident notification
If there is a serious injury or illness, a death or a dangerous incident, you must report it to us immediately on 13 10 50 as an urgent investigation may be needed.
You must take care not to disturb the incident scene until an inspector arrives at the site, or until direction is given by an inspector. You can help an injured person and ensure safety of the site.
Incidents can be notified 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 13 10 50.
You must also:
- provide first aid and make sure the worker gets the right care
- record it in the register of injuries
- notify your insurer within 48 hours.
Please note that your responsibility to not disturb the incident scene does not prevent any action to:
- assist an injured person
- remove a deceased person
- make the site safe
- assist with a police investigation, if directed
- comply with an inspector request.
When you must notify SafeWork NSW about an incident, death or illness at work
A ‘notifiable incident’ under the work health and safety legislation relates to:
- the death of a person
- a serious injury or illness of a person
- a dangerous incident: some types of work-related dangerous incidents must be notified even if no-one is injured.
Significant penalties apply if you fail to notify us of an incident. You must also notify your workers compensation insurer of the incident within 48 hours.
Everything you need to know about reporting an incident is in our Investigating and reporting incidents and Safe Work Australia's Incident notification information sheet.
If you’re still unsure, call us on 13 10 50.
How we will respond
Our Customer service standard - Notifying a WHS incident (PDF 1.5MB) is about the notification process. It outlines the process we follow when responding to incidents, what you can expect from us, and how we can help.
When you don’t notify
Penalties apply for not notifying incidents. The maximum penalty for failing to notify is $50,000 for a body corporate and $10,000 for an individual.
More information
- SafeWork NSW incident response and investigations - what to expect - Customer Service Standard (PDF 1.5MB) - outlines the investigation process and what you can expect from us if we undertake an investigation following an incident. It outlines what happens after the initial notification process.
- When to notify blood, body substance and needlestick injuries
- Use the Have you been injured at work? web app to find out what you need to do next. The app contains information on your weekly payments and entitlements and will help you plan your next steps in recovery and return to work.
- Download and display the If you get injured at work poster.
- Contact icare for information on notifying a workplace injury and the claims process.
- For recovery at work information visit the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, Injury Advice Centre.
- View this factsheet to understand the role of SafeWork NSW, icare (and Claim Service Providers) and SIRA following a serious workplace incident.