Accident and hazard reporting

• Emergency Assistance
• Report all injuries and near misses
• Serious injuries and incidents
• Reporting hazards
• Supervisors and Managers responsibilities
• Further Help
• Why is reporting injuries and incidents important?
• What can be done to prevent injury and illness?
• Medical payments associated with work-related injuries

Emergency Assistance

If you need emergency medical assistance, please call Security on 222 or the emergency services directly on (0) 000. Other emergency contact numbers are on the emergency website.

Report all injuries and near misses

You can either:

• Use the online incident report form

Or

• Lodge a written accident report with Health, Wellbeing and Safety. Either the hand written form or the Microsoft Word form versions can be used. Unless it is inappropriate in the situation, a copy of the written report must be given to your manager, supervisor or academic-in-charge

If a person cannot lodge a report themselves you can do it on their behalf.

What is an incident?

Incident is the general name for accidents (that may or may not result injury), near misses and hazards.

What is a near miss?

A near miss is a dangerous incident that could have led to serious injury or significant damage.

Should I report medical incidents (fainting etc)?

In general, yes if it was serious such as a loss of consciousness or a visit to the hospital.

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Serious injuries and incidents

There is a statutory requirement in Victoria to report all serious injuries and other incidents to WorkSafe Victoria. This applies to injuries involving anyone on Deakin premises: staff as well as students, visitors or contractors. There is also a requirement to report electrical accidents to EnergySafe Victoria.

Please contact the Health, Wellbeing and Safety immediately on (03) 522 72869 (Geelong / Warrnambool) (03) 924 68175 (Melbourne).

Serious injuries and incidents are those that involve:

• deaths and life-threatening injuries (such as amputations)
• medical treatment as an inpatient in hospital
• incidents where people are in the immediate vicinity of a risk such as:
  • registered or licensed plant that has collapsed, overturned, failed or malfunctioned
  • the collapse of an excavation supporting an excavation
  • the collapse of a building or structure
  • an implosion, explosion or fire
  • incidents involving over 10 kilograms of dangerous goods
  • if plant or object falls from high places.

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Reporting hazards

If you identify a hazard and you cannot fix it quickly, you should report it the same way as an injury or near miss (see above). OHS hazards associated with public areas, fixtures such as toilets and lights, and fittings such as carpets should be lodged directly with Facilities Services via a Work Request.

Supervisors and Managers responsibilities

If you receive an injury or incident report, you must, if practical, discuss the injury or incident with the staff member involved. The main purpose of the discussion is to enquire about the welfare of the staff member and offer any additional assistance needed. The subsidiary purpose is to understand how the incident occurred and what can be done to prevent a re-occurrence. There must be no attempt to attribute blame.

For more serious accidents or near misses a documented accident investigation must be carried out by the manager or supervisor. This would apply where the incident has been reported to WorkSafe or where a WorkCover Claim is submitted. Advice should be sought from the Health, Wellbeing and Safety Unit. The Manager Accident Analysis Report (303 KB) can be used for this purpose if appropriate.

Further Help

If OHS matters are not adequately addressed you can take them up with:

• Health, Wellbeing and Safety Unit or
• your local health and safety representative or
• your campus OHS committee.

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Why is reporting injuries and incidents important?

A fundamental component of any accident prevention program is good, reliable accident reporting. If minor injuries, near misses or hazards are reported it gives the University through your supervisor an opportunity to intervene and prevent more serious injury. Your minor trip may be the next person's twisted ankle or worse. Similarly if you are finding it difficult to safely get the box down from top of the cupboard, it may be only a matter of time before you or a colleague is injured.

With other types of injuries/incidents, for example with computers, early reporting of persistent or reoccurring pain or discomfort can prevent the problem from developing and becoming more serious. This same principle applies to some manual handling injuries and work related stress. Nearly half of the serious injuries over the last three years at Deakin may have been prevented if they were reported when they started occurring rather than many months later.

What can be done to prevent injury and illness?

Reporting of accidents or hazards should occur promptly reducing the chances of the same thing happening to others. Managers and OHS Representatives are encouraged to put up the Report That Hazard (29 KB) poster in the workplace.

You can prevent injuries and illnesses by integrating OHS risk management into your work. You should work with your manager or supervisor to:

• identify all hazards,
• assess the risk of these hazards, and
• take action to eliminate, minimise or control the risk.

What is a hazard?

A hazard is anything with the potential to cause damage to people, the environment, property, plant or equipment.

What is a risk?

Risk is the chance that hazard will cause injury or damage.

It is measured in terms of consequence and likelihood.

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Medical payments associated with work-related injuries

Where a staff member has medical costs associated with a work-related injury they can request refund of those costs. Refund of medical costs must only occur after the accident has been reported in the central Register and acknowledged: see online incident report form.

Payments can be made directly by the work area or through Human Resources (Health Wellbeing and Safety).

If payment is made by the work area, it must be accompanied by the acknowledgement of the incident report issued by Human Resources when accidents are reported. Payments must be approved by the manager of the work area. Copies of the account and payment must be also provided to Human Resources (Health Wellbeing and Safety): an electronic copy is preferred. The total of all payments through the local work area must not exceed $200.

Where payments are associated with a Workers Compensation claim, all accounts must be sent to Human Resources (Health Wellbeing and Safety) for payment.

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