What workplace incidents must be reported to SafeWork SA?

A South Australian person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must notify SafeWork SA of a work-related death, specified serious injury or illness, or dangerous incident arising from the conduct of the business or undertaking. The obligation can cover a worker, contractor, visitor or member of the public at the workplace. SafeWork SA's current notification page sets out the reportable categories, contact channels and site-preservation warning. Notify the regulator promptly through the appropriate channel; recording the event in an internal incident system is a separate step and does not itself make the statutory notification.

This guide deals with South Australia's Work Health and Safety Act 2012 and SafeWork SA process. The Australian model-WHS concepts are relevant, but reporting routes, additional prescribed events and sector procedures can vary by jurisdiction. Do not use a Victorian WorkSafe number or another state's online form for an SA event. A transport, electrical, mine, dangerous-goods or environmental incident may also trigger a separate regulator notification; SafeWork SA expressly says an operator must make any other required report itself.

Make the immediate response safe first

Call emergency services for urgent medical care, fire or another immediate danger. Stop the activity, isolate hazards and prevent further injury. Arrange first aid and support for affected people. Do not postpone emergency care to collect evidence or complete a web form. At the same time, nominate one responsible person to establish the facts needed for a notification: location, time, work activity, people involved, injury or dangerous event, immediate controls and a contact number for the PCBU.

The person with management or control of the workplace should protect the incident site so far as reasonably practicable. SafeWork SA's section 39 notice warns against disturbing the site, plant, substance, structure or thing involved. Exceptions include helping an injured person, removing a deceased person, making the area safe or acting on a police direction. Do not leave an uncontrolled hazard in place merely to preserve it. Note what was moved, when, why and by whom; photograph the safe condition where appropriate and lawful.

Do not equate preservation with freezing the whole business unnecessarily. Identify the relevant area and equipment, restrict access and get advice from SafeWork SA if unsure what can be touched. A written site log makes subsequent investigation more reliable: time of isolation, emergency action, personnel entering, evidence removed, regulator contact and any direction received.

Which deaths, injuries and illnesses are notifiable?

SafeWork SA lists fatalities connected with work and serious injuries or illnesses under its workplace incident guidance. Its serious-injury examples include immediate in-patient treatment in hospital, even when the stay is not overnight; immediate treatment for an amputation, serious head or eye injury, serious burn, degloving or scalping, spinal injury, loss of bodily function or serious lacerations; and medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance. Some specified work-related infections and occupational zoonoses are also reportable.

The everyday word “serious” is not the legal test on its own. A worker can be severely shaken without meeting a particular listed category, while an injury that initially appears manageable may become notifiable once it requires the specified treatment. Get accurate medical facts without speculating about a diagnosis. If a worker is taken to hospital, find out whether they were admitted as an in-patient rather than assuming every emergency-department visit meets that limb. Do not wait for a claim decision by the insurer before evaluating notification.

SafeWork SA says workplace-attributable COVID-19 is notifiable in the circumstances specified on its current page when it can be reliably attributed to workplace exposure and causes either in-patient treatment or death. That is a narrower rule than “every positive test at work”. Infectious-disease and public-health duties may be separate. Because disease guidance can change, check the live regulator page for the exact event.

Example: contractor hospital treatment

A subcontractor falls from an access platform at an SA warehouse. The principal's first action is emergency assistance and site protection. The contractor's employer and site operator should coordinate promptly rather than assuming the other party will call. If the person receives immediate in-patient hospital treatment, the event meets the category described by SafeWork SA. Record who notified, the contact time and any reference number. The businesses may each retain internal records and cooperate with the regulator. The internal accident report cannot be treated as proof that SafeWork SA received notice.

Which dangerous incidents must be reported?

A dangerous incident can be notifiable without an injury if it exposes a person to a serious health or safety risk through immediate or imminent exposure of a listed kind. SafeWork SA's examples include uncontrolled substance release, explosion or fire, uncontrolled release of gas, steam or pressure, electric shock, a fall or release of plant or an object from height, failure of plant requiring authorisation, structural or excavation collapse, and underground inrush or ventilation interruption. The SA regulations can prescribe further events, including a mining-specific loss of control of heavy earthmoving machinery.

Do not classify an event solely by its label in the incident-management software. “Near miss” can describe both a minor event and a legally notifiable dangerous incident. Assess what actually happened, whether someone was exposed to a serious risk, and whether the immediate or imminent event falls within the listed definition. Preserve the details of the hazard, distance and timing of people nearby, and the part of the system that failed.

Example: a dropped load that misses a worker

A crane load is released unexpectedly and lands beside a work crew. Nobody is hit. It would be unsafe to dismiss the event because the injury count is zero. Stop the lift, secure the area and examine the statutory dangerous-incident category for falling or released plant, substance or thing. If the definition is met, notify SafeWork SA promptly and preserve relevant rigging, controls and records. Do not resume lifting until competent people have addressed the immediate risk and any regulator direction.

How do you notify SafeWork SA?

Use the live SafeWork SA workplace notification page as the source for current channels. At the time checked for this draft, it instructs callers to use 1800 777 209, 24 hours statewide, for a life-threatening issue or death. For non-life-threatening injuries or issues, it lists 1300 365 255, its notifiable-incident form, or the published notification email address. Confirm the current channel on the day of the event, because contact routes and online form availability can change.

Prepare the business ABN or ACN, site and contact details, time and place, a plain account of the event, people affected, injury or treatment details known so far, immediate isolation and any changes to the scene. The regulator page lists additional information for dangerous substances, vehicles and mining events. Give verified information; say what remains unknown rather than guessing. Record how and when notification was made and keep a copy or reference.

For an urgent event, do not delay the initial report while trying to create a polished investigation. Notify with the facts available, then give updates if requested or when material facts change. Internally, assign someone to maintain an evidence log, contact affected parties and coordinate with the regulator. The public form's attachment limits or a failed upload do not cancel the underlying duty—use the current alternative channel and keep evidence of the attempt.

Mining and electrical incidents may take an additional route

SafeWork SA's page separates mining incident notification, including prescribed high-potential events and particular medical-treatment events. It describes a mining form and written submission timing, and says a life-threatening mining event or fatality should also be reported by the 24-hour telephone line. A mine operator should follow those sector instructions rather than applying only the ordinary workplace examples.

The same page tells readers to call the Office of the Technical Regulator for relevant electrical incidents such as electric shock, gas infrastructure or gas fitting. This is a reminder to check parallel duties, not a statement that every electrical event is reportable to exactly one agency. Determine which Acts and regulators apply to the actual event and make each required notification. Do not assume SafeWork SA forwards the report to them.

What records should the business keep?

Maintain a chronological file that distinguishes statutory notice, site preservation, internal investigation and corrective actions. Useful records include the initial report, notification time/channel/reference, first-aid and emergency response, photos taken safely, witness details, equipment and maintenance records, applicable SWMS or risk assessment, training/induction records, relevant contractor communications, regulator directions and actions taken. Protect personal medical data, witness accounts and legal advice with appropriate access controls.

An investigation should examine how the work system permitted the event, not simply choose an individual to blame. Check task planning, supervision, plant condition, conflicting instructions, schedule pressure, isolation, contractor interfaces and whether controls were actually used. Assign actions with owners and due dates, verify that each action works, then review whether similar work elsewhere needs a change. A notification does not equal an effective corrective action, and a corrective action does not excuse a missed notification.

If multiple PCBUs share the workplace, establish who is handling each regulator contact, but maintain independent oversight of your own duties. Obtain a copy of the notification or reference rather than accepting an informal assurance. A site operator may need to preserve plant under its control even when the injured person works for another employer.

Frequent errors

• Treating every injury as automatically notifiable, or only fatalities as notifiable. Apply the defined categories to the facts.
• Ignoring dangerous incidents because nobody was hurt. Serious imminent exposure may be enough.
• Waiting for a full investigation before calling. Report with known facts through the appropriate current channel.
• Assuming the other contractor notified. Coordinate and document responsibility.
• Moving plant or cleaning the scene without an exception or direction. Make people safe, preserve what is reasonably practicable, and log changes.
• Using a general incident form as the regulator submission. Internal records and statutory notice are different.
• Missing other regulators. Mining, electrical, dangerous-goods and other laws may add routes.
• Confusing a page's mining-only 48-hour written rule with a blanket timetable for every SA workplace incident. Follow the rule for the actual sector and event.

Where does Complys fit?

The verified Complys AU incident-reporting software describes recording events, attaching evidence and tracking corrective actions. These functions can support the internal chronology and show that follow-up actions were assigned. The PCBU still has to assess the legal trigger and notify SafeWork SA through its own current channel. The live product page does not establish automatic legal classification, regulator submission or emergency dispatch. Check the product's current access and retention settings before storing sensitive information.

For an event happening now, use emergency services where needed and the current SafeWork SA notification instructions. Use Complys to organise the supporting record and follow-up where appropriate, then verify that the statutory report was actually received. If the trigger is uncertain, contact the regulator or obtain competent WHS advice promptly rather than treating an unreported event as safe by default.

For the related Complys product, see Incident Reporting Software. This guide is general information, not legal advice; verify current requirements against the official sources linked above.