OH&S - Incident Reporting

All incidents must be reported to your supervisor as soon as possible. An incident report form must be completed for all accidents and incidents.

Definitions
Incident:- any event or circumstance that could have lead to or leads to unintended and / or unnecessary harm to a person, and / or loss or damage to property or the environment
            
Importance of reporting

Reporting incidents ensures appropriate controls are put in place to eliminate/reduce the chance of an  incident re-occuring or occurring.

In addtion if you are injured or suffer form a work related illness and need to make a workers compensation claim then it is important that the injury/Illness be reported to your supervisor as soon as possible.

In case of an injury

Depending on the severity of the injury, and the injured parties preference, the injured party should seek appropriate first aid/medical attention from one or more of the following:

1. A First Aid Officer
2. An Ambulance Officer (Dial 9385 666 or 56666)
3. St.Vincent's Hospital or the nearest available medical facility
4. Their treating/local doctor

Completing the report form

The Incident report form is divided into 2 sections to be completed by various persons as follows:

Part A of the form is to be completed by the injured party or person reporting the incident. If the injured party is unable to complete the form it can be filled out by another person on their behalf, but the injured party will still need to sign the form when well enough.

Part B is to be completed by the person’s immediate supervisor (If a student is injured their supervisor will be their Lecturer or Head of School), who is responsible for identifying the contributing factors to the incident, assessing the level of risk and stating the corrective action taken in relation to the causes of the reported incident.

The original of the completed report with the signature of both parties is to be forwarded to the OHS and Workers Compensation Unit.

Copies of the incident report should also be made and distributed as follows:

Copy 1 is to be forwarded to the COFA OHS coordinator
Copy 2 is to be forwarded to the Chairperson of the local OHS Committee
Copy 3 is to be retained by the person initiating the incident report

Workers compensation claims

If you are injured or suffer form a work related illness and need to make a workers compensation claim then it is important that the injury/Illness be reported to your supervisor as soon as possible and an incident report form must be completed (Attach any workers compenstation medical cerificates).

Supervisors should report injuries/illnesses to the Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Section of the Risk Management Unit within 24 hours of receiving a report. This is regardless of whether the injured person intends to make a workers compensation claim.

In addition the supervisor must immediately notify the Rehabilitation Co-ordinator, Annette Macmanus, on ph: 9385-3784 if presented with a WorkCover or other medical certificate indicating an injured worker is fit for duties that vary from their normal duties (eg. restricted, selected, suitable, modified, alternate or light duties). The supervisor should ensure that these medical recommendations are abided by until such time as adequate assessment can be instigated.