What is a notifiable incident? WHS rules by state

The three triggers

Under the harmonised WHS law, a notifiable incident is a death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident. It needs to arise out of the conduct of a business or undertaking. The person affected can be an employee, a contractor, a visitor or a member of the public. A dangerous incident can count even when no one is hurt.

Victoria is the one state that hasn’t adopted the harmonised Act. It runs its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, with its own triggers and a written record within 48 hours. If you work in more than one state, you need each state’s page.

What happens after

• The regulator is told immediately, usually by phone
• The site is kept as it is until an inspector arrives or gives direction, apart from helping people and making the area safe
• A written notice follows if the regulator asks, or in Victoria as a standard step
• A record of the notifiable incident is kept for years

The rows below show what NT WorkSafe and WorkSafe ACT say about the written notice, the site, the record and who judges an injury. They are explanations of the harmonised law from two regulators, not Haznote’s summary.

Pick your state

Each state page has the regulator’s number, how that state differs from the model law and a worked example. Where we’ve checked it, it also has the 2025 amendment position. The 2026 changes tracker follows how the national amendments are being adopted.

Where Haznote fits

Haznote can’t tell you what the law says for your situation, and it doesn’t notify anyone. It flags a report that may be notifiable and names the regulator for that site’s state. It also keeps the times, words and photos together. A manager confirms every classification.