What is a notifiable event in New Zealand?
Short answer
Under HSWA 2015, a notifiable event is the death of a person, a notifiable injury or illness, or a notifiable incident arising out of work. The PCBU must notify WorkSafe NZ "as soon as practicable" (HSWA s.56). The site must be preserved until WorkSafe permits otherwise (s.55).
HSWA 2015 defines three categories of notifiable event that must be reported to WorkSafe NZ:
- Death of a person (s.23) — any death that arises out of the conduct of a business or undertaking.
- Notifiable injury or illness (s.23) — injuries or illnesses requiring immediate treatment as an in-patient in hospital; immediate treatment for amputation, serious head/eye/spinal injury, serious burns, scalping/degloving, serious laceration, loss of bodily function, serious infections, serious head injury, etc.
- Notifiable incident (s.24) — unplanned/uncontrolled incidents that expose a worker or another person to a serious risk to their health or safety arising out of the conduct of a business or undertaking (uncontrolled escape of substances, uncontrolled implosion/explosion/fire, electric shock from work, fall from height, structural collapse, etc.).
The PCBU's obligations are in HSWA s.56 and the associated regulations:
- Notify WorkSafe NZ as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the event. Online notification at worksafe.govt.nz or by phone 0800 030 040.
- Preserve the site (HSWA s.55) — do not disturb the site or any plant, substance or thing associated with the event until WorkSafe authorises the work site to be re-used or for the period prescribed.
- Keep records of the event for at least 5 years.
Officers must be notified for HSWA s.44 due diligence purposes.
RAE IQ's NZ Notifiable Events workflow (an extension of the Incident Register) classifies events against s.23/24, walks the PCBU through site preservation, escalates if notification is not lodged within 60 minutes, and captures the WorkSafe reference number on the incident record.