WHS Incident Reporting Requirements in Queensland

What it is

Section 38 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) requires a PCBU to notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (within Office of Industrial Relations) immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incident arising out of the conduct of the business or undertaking.

Queensland's framework follows the model WHS Act with the same section numbering and definitions as NSW, WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT. That commonality supports cross-border consistency but each jurisdiction retains its own regulator and enforcement approach.

What must be notified

Section 35 defines notifiable incident as:

• the death of a person
• a serious injury or illness (section 36)
• a dangerous incident (section 37)

Section 36 specifies serious injury by reference to medical outcomes including immediate hospital in-patient treatment, immediate medical treatment within 48 hours of substance exposure, and specified conditions (amputation, loss of bodily function, serious head or eye injury, serious burns and spinal injury).

Section 37 specifies dangerous incident by reference to listed hazards including uncontrolled fire, explosion, collapse of structure and escape of substances.

Immediate telephone notification

Section 38(1) requires notification immediately after becoming aware. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland operates a 24-hour incident line (1300 362 128) for phone notification.

Notification details include enough information to identify the workplace, the PCBU and the nature of the incident. Additional information may be requested by the inspector attending the scene.

Written notice conditional on request

Section 38(4)(b) makes written notice CONDITIONAL - required only if the regulator requests it, and running from the request. This is the model WHS Act position, differing from Victoria's automatic 48-hour written notice under section 38(4) OHS Act 2004 (Vic).

TradeForm QLD templates flag the conditional nature of the written notice to prevent confusion with the Victorian framework.

Site preservation

Section 39 requires the PCBU to ensure the site is not disturbed until an inspector arrives or authorises otherwise, except to assist an injured person, remove a body, make the site safe or comply with a police or emergency direction.

Record-keeping

Section 38(5) and the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) require the PCBU to keep a record of the notifiable incident for at least 5 years.

Penalties

Section 38 offence carries penalties up to $10,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a body corporate. Strict liability offence.

Interaction with industrial manslaughter

Notifiable incidents involving death may trigger both section 38 notification obligations and section 34C industrial manslaughter prosecution (from 23 October 2017). Non-notification does not admit fault under section 34C but does create a separate offence exposure.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland treats notification failures as an aggravating factor in industrial manslaughter prosecutions.

Interaction with QBCC licensing

WHS Act notification failures by a QBCC-licensed builder can trigger licensing disciplinary action under Part 6 of the QBCC Act 1991 (Qld). Repeated notification failures can accumulate demerit points and lead to disqualification.

How Queensland compares

Queensland's section 38 framework aligns with NSW, WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT under the model WHS Act. Victoria's OHS Act 2004 framework differs in the automatic 48-hour written notice requirement.

TradeForm QLD templates walk builders through the section 38 telephone notification, site preservation, and record-keeping obligations.