Notifiable Incidents on Residential Construction Sites in the ACT

What it is

A notifiable incident is a work-related death, serious injury or illness, or dangerous incident that must be reported to WorkSafe ACT immediately. The duty sits in Part 3 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT) and falls on every person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU).

The ACT is the jurisdiction where a builder is most likely to be working from out-of-date guidance. The Workplace Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (No 3) rewrote the incident notification provisions and the changes commenced on 19 November 2025. A builder relying on a pre-2025 induction pack, or on the rules they learned in New South Wales, will under-report.

What changed on 19 November 2025

The amendments widened the list and changed the test. A serious injury or illness is now notifiable where it would ordinarily require immediate in-patient hospital treatment or immediate medical treatment, whether or not treatment is actually sought or available. A worker who refuses to go to hospital, or who cannot get there, does not take the incident out of the scheme.

The serious injury list now expressly includes:

• spinal injuries, including a fracture of one or more vertebrae
• bone fractures, including fractures of the pelvis, skull or facial bones
• serious crush injuries that ordinarily require immediate treatment
• serious head injuries resulting from a significant or repeated blow, knock or shock to the head
• an injury or illness from exposure to a substance where treatment is sought within 48 hours from a registered health practitioner

That change matters on housing sites. A broken wrist off a ladder, a crushed foot under a pack of bricks, a fractured cheekbone from a kickback. These are now plainly notifiable in the ACT.

The dangerous incident list was also clarified to cover electrical incidents such as arc flashes, mobile plant overturns and uncontrolled movement, and serious falls into holes, trenches, pits or voids.

The collapse triggers

The collapse or partial collapse of a structure, including an excavation or any shoring supporting an excavation, is a notifiable dangerous incident. No injury is required.

A trench that caves in on a footing run is notifiable even if the crew were standing clear. If it exposed a person to a serious risk, WorkSafe ACT has to be told. Cleaning it up and carrying on is the offence.

Notify immediately, preserve the site

Notice must be given by the fastest possible means immediately after the PCBU becomes aware. Where notice is given by telephone and WorkSafe ACT requires written follow-up, that notice is due within 48 hours of the request.

The person with management or control of the workplace must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the site is preserved until released by a WorkSafe ACT inspector. Since November 2025 that duty expressly extends to preserving evidence of the incident, including physical items, electronic and digital records and witness details.

Sexual assault is notifiable in the ACT

The ACT treats a workplace sexual assault, including a suspected incident, as a notifiable incident. This is not part of the standard model WHS list and builders from other states routinely miss it.

Section 38(9) limits what is reported to the name and contact details of the PCBU, a description of the workplace, and whether the incident was reported to police. The PCBU must not give information disclosing the identity of any person involved.

Records, penalties and industrial manslaughter

A record of each notifiable incident must be kept for at least 5 years. Failing to notify carries a tier D monetary penalty and failing to keep the record carries a tier F penalty. Under the indexed scale applying from 1 July 2025, tier D is $16,000 for an individual and $79,492 for a body corporate.

Sitting above all of it is section 34A. Industrial manslaughter is an offence in the ACT where a PCBU or officer breaches a health and safety duty and is reckless or negligent about causing death. The maximum penalty for an individual is imprisonment for 20 years.

What to do about it

Rewrite the incident card. If your ACT trigger list predates 19 November 2025 it is wrong, and it is wrong in the direction of under-reporting.

Tell supervisors that a fracture is notifiable, that near-miss collapses are notifiable, and that a worker declining treatment changes nothing. Lock the camera footage and take witness names before the site clears.