Near miss report template for Australian worksites
Short answer
A near miss report records what almost happened, what stopped it and how bad it could have been. It asks what you’d change so it doesn’t happen again. This page lists the fields, with a free PDF and Word template and a voice version that takes thirty seconds on site.
Writing up a near miss
A near miss is a free lesson, if anyone writes it down. Most don’t, because nobody was hurt and the shift is busy. The report should be short, quick to fill in and honest about what was luck.
Fields to capture
The fields cover what happened, why it didn’t get worse and what would stop it next time.
- What almost happened, in one or two sentences
- What stopped it: a person, a guard, a reaction or luck
- Worst outcome that could have followed, in plain words
- Where it happened, and the task being done
- Who was nearby and who saw it
- Immediate fix, if any, and what you’d change
- Whether it has happened before at this spot
What a good record looks like
A good near miss report is short and says what luck covered for. It names the worst case without exaggerating it. It’s also easy to file, since a form that takes ten minutes is a form no one fills in.
Where reports go wrong
The biggest gap is the report that never gets written. The next is the one that says just “nothing happened”. A good report separates the event from the outcome and asks for the fix.
Serious injuries and the regulator
A near miss can still be a dangerous incident in the regulator’s eyes. The notifiable incidents page explains the triggers, including cases where no one was hurt. If you’re unsure, ring your regulator and ask.
Where Haznote fits
Haznote is built for this. A worker says what almost happened, adds a photo and sends it, offline if needed. The AI drafts a description and a priority and a manager confirms. Workers can leave their name off when the site allows anonymous reports.
Download the form.
A free example to print or edit. It’s general information, not legal advice, and it asks for no email.
Plain answers.
Is a near miss different from a hazard?
A hazard is something that could cause harm. A near miss is when it nearly did. Use the hazard form for the former and this template for the latter.
Do I get in trouble for reporting one?
That depends on the workplace. Anonymous reports are a site setting in Haznote, off by default and best-effort.
How short can it be?
Two sentences and a photo is enough to start. A manager can ask for more.
Where this comes from.
This page describes how Haznote works. It makes no claims about the law, so it cites no regulator.
Record a near miss by voice. A manager confirms it.
Run it on one site and see the first report land in the manager’s list.