Notifiable incidents in Queensland: WHSQ and the phone call

What counts, and who to call

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) is the regulator for most workplaces, and the Electrical Safety Office handles serious electrical incidents. WorkSafe Queensland’s guidance runs in three steps: notify, don’t disturb the site, then notify your workers’ compensation insurer. Anyone can tell the regulator about an incident, but the business owner or employer is expected to.

How Qld differs from the model law

Queensland uses the harmonised Act, so the triggers match the model law and the differences are in how you notify. The regulator is Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, and there’s no body called SafeWork Queensland. A phone notification needs no written follow-up. A record of each notifiable incident is kept for at least five years from the date it was notified. WorkSafe Queensland’s notification page covers both Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and the Electrical Safety Office, so an electrical incident has its own route.

A worked example

A tower crane drops a bundle of formwork onto a Brisbane slab and a worker is admitted to hospital with serious injuries. The site manager gets people clear, phones 1300 362 128 and is given a summary of what was recorded. The slab stays as it is for the inspector. The summary and the notification date go in the incident file, so the record can be shown years later.

How Haznote handles it

On a Queensland site, Haznote uses the regulator’s actual name, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. The manager confirms the classification, and the PDF notes whether the regulator has been notified and when. Queensland also has the Electrical Safety Office, so the manager picks the right body when the incident is electrical.