Notifying WorkSafe NZ

What is a notifiable event?

A notifiable event is any of the following events that arise from work:

• a death
• a notifiable illness or injury or
• a notifiable incident.

Previously, the Employment Act stated “serious harm” as the key term when it came to deciding whether an event had to be reported to a regulator (e.g. WorkSafe NZ).

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 now uses new terms which include; “notifiable injury or illness” (see Section 23), “notifiable incident” (see Section 24) and “notifiable event” (see Section 25).

A PCBU must notify the regulator after becoming aware that a notifiable event has occurred in the workplace. This allows the regulator to immediately carry out an investigation on that event.

The procedure for notification is set out in Section 56. Records of any such events need to be kept for at least 5 years (see Section 57).

Need more information on legislative requirements around notifying WorkSafe NZ?  Contact us here at Working Wise today.