-
a death of a person (whether an employee, contractor or member of the public);
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a serious injury or illness of the person (Even if immediate treatment is not readily available, for example because the incident site is rural or remote or because the relevant specialist treatment is not available, the notification must still be made) Trigger Examples: Immediate treatment as an in-patient in a hospital. Admission into a hospital as an in-patient for any duration, even if the stay is not overnight or longer. Amputation of a limb such as arm or leg, body part such as hand, foot or the tip of a finger, toe, nose or ear. Head injury, skull or any potential organ injury.;
-
a dangerous incident.
- calling 1800 019 115, or
- filling out the Incident Notification Form (faxing it to 8999 5141 or emailing it to ntworksafe@nt.gov.au)’
Incident site
As soon the regulator is notified, then you are required to preserve the site of the incident until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise (subject to some
exceptions).
An incident site may be disturbed:
- to assist an injured person
- to remove a deceased person
- to make the site safe or to minimise the risk of a further notifiable incident
- to facilitate a police investigation, or
- after an inspector has given a direction to
- do so either in person or by telephone.
The sooner the regulator is notified, the sooner the site can be released.
An incident is not notifiable just because it happens at or near a workplace.
Incidents may occur for reasons which do not have anything to do with the conduct of the business or undertaking, for example:
- a worker or another person suffers a heart attack while at work which is unrelated to work or the conduct of the business or undertaking
- an amateur athlete is injured while playing on the local soccer team and requires immediate medical treatment (this is not work)
- a person driving to work is injured in a car accident (where driving is not part of their work)
- a person with epilepsy has a seizure at work.
These kinds of incidents are not notifiable.
Still unsure?
If you are still unsure about whether a particular incident should be notified then contact your regulator for guidance.
Northern Territory NT WorkSafe 1800 019 115 worksafe.nt.gov.au
Who is responsible for notifying?
Usually it is the senior management. Procedures should be put into place to ensure work health and safety incidents are promptly brought to the
relevant individual’s attention, for example a manager and then notified to the regulator, if required. For more information on the definition of a PCBU see the Interpretive Guideline: The Meaning of ‘Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking’.
What information will be requested?
What happened
When
Where
Who suffered: Injured person’s name, salutation, date of birth, address and contact number.
Injured person’s occupation.
Relationship of the injured person to the entity notifying.
How and where are they being treated (if applicable)
Description of serious injury or illness—i.e. nature of injury
Initial treatment of serious injury or illness.
Where the patient has been taken for treatment.
Who is the person conducting the business or undertaking (there may be more than one)
Legal and trading name.
Business address (if different from incident address), ABN/ACN and
contact details including phone number and email.
Action taken
Details of a person notifying.
Other cases requiring notification
Notification is also required for the following prescribed serious illness:
Any infection to which the carrying out of work is a significant contributing factor, including any infection that is reliably attributable to carrying out work:
i. with micro-organisms
ii. that involves providing treatment or care to a person
iii. that involves contact with human blood or body substances
iv. that involves handling or contact with animals, animal hides, skins, wool or hair, animal carcasses or animal waste products.
Occupational zoonoses
The following occupational zoonoses contracted in the course of work involving handling or contact with animals, animal hides, skins, wool or hair, animal carcasses or animal waste products:
i. Q fever
ii. Anthrax
iii. Leptospirosis
iv. Brucellosis
v. Hendra Virus
vi. Avian Influenza
vii. Psittacosis.
Exposure
Notification is also required of any incident in relation to a workplace that exposes a worker or any other person to a serious risk resulting from an immediate or imminent exposure to:
- an uncontrolled escape, spillage or leakage of a substance
- an uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fire
- an uncontrolled escape of gas or steam
- an uncontrolled escape of a pressurised substance
- electric shock
And yet when an accident really happens not many of us know what to do, that is why we have developed Crisis Management Plan and Directory for NT when any of emplyees can quickly open the needed page and have a step by step guide in front of them check Products page
Read More 
Safety professionals
SIA NT Conference organising committee is proud to announce:
- Call for papers for the NT conference NT WHS Conference Call for Papers 2015; and
- Sponsorship opportunities to support the conference Sponsorship Package – NT SIA WHS Conference 2015.
Later we will announce super early bird rates for participants.
Thank you for your support and input.
Martyn Hill CFSIA RSP
Chairman of the Conference Organising Committee
Safety Institute of Australia NT
Read More
All safety professionals are different, but there are things that cool safety professional should never do:
Won’t Act Like A Cop
Any one from operations or managements hates it, they absolutely loathe the ” safety guy -inspector type”. There is no badge, there is no safety police, there is no “the only right way to do it”. Wielding influence is much more powerful than authority. Build up goodwill and influence via mentoring and fostering relationships.
Won’t Say No To Common Sense
Yes, common sense is uncommon. Have you ever been in that position where the rules state one thing and the situation at hand demands practicality and thus breaking a rule in the process? Sometimes one has to look the other way. There is a name for that, “reasonable solution”. Sometimes, as safety professionals, we must trust the experience of the worker, not the rule book, to manage the situation.
Won’t Throw Team Under The Bus
There is no “me” or “we” against “them”. It is “us” as a “team” that work together for the common good. The safety professionals are part of a team. Break this rule and you will be eating your lunches alone.
Won’t Pretend To Know Everything
Aaah, the safety that tells the workers how to do their job. Please clarify and ask questions about the work that is being done in the field, just don’t tell them how to do their job because it appears unsafe.
Won’t Just Sit In Their Office All Day
Then there is the invisible safety who always has a task to complete in the office. Have a healthy balance of being in the field and being in the office. Don’t get married to any statistics like 70% in the field, 30% in the office – that is unnecessary. Spend time where necessary in order to reach your goals and complete your tasks.
Won’t Ever Believe The Company’s Zero Injury track record
A lot of things are manipulated in life. The way in which a zero harm is estimated can be a creative process. Some corporations seem to be averse to simply being honest with this number, every sane person knows that on work site where thousands of workers are present your there is no zeroinjury possible, and that is ok because this is life, and we have yet to invent a hazard free work zone in this Universe.
They Won’t Take Themselves Too Serious
Like you, I am just a regular guy, yet sometimes I tend to feel like I am a pretty important guy. Whenever that starts to happen I remember to visit humble lane and eat some humble pie. At the end of the day it is about being comfortable with who you are and what you are doing at work.
As the old saying goes: Stay hungry, stay foolish 🙂
This article is adopted to Australian audience and is based on the one written by White Knight Safety Solutions
Does school have an obligation to a student if the school provides the work placement in the Northern Territory?
While some might argue that school is not responsible, prevention is always better than cure. So, there are a number of considerations that both employers and educators will need to take into account before the work placement:
- Does the workplace have a documented WHS policy, developed in consultation with employees, stating a commitment to a safe workplace?
- Is there a process for consulting with all employees on WHS matters and enabling employees to report hazards?
- Is there a specific induction programme for workplace students and does it include training on evacuation and emergency procedures, and safe and correct work practices, including the use of tools, machinery and equipment?
- Are all foreseeable hazards that may cause injury to work placement students and other workers identified and controlled?
- Are records of previous student placements including time spent at the workplace, details of induction, training, incidents and injuries reviewed?
- Does the workplace have sufficient staffing resources to provide skilled and close supervision that students on a work placement are likely to require?
These are just a couple of questions schools might consider while providing work placement.
It is important to remember that for many work placement is the first taste of employment and the student will not be able to compare this experience to any other experience in his life and that is why students are particularly vulnerable to unsafe practices.
Read MoreIt is not surprising that safer and healthier workplaces translate into increased productivity, more job satisfaction and stronger bottom-line results, the imperative to prove the links has grown stronger.
What is surprising is how closely safety and productivity are related, a lot of indications of a productive and efficient systems are also indications of a safe system:
- A high-quality working environment.
- A good level of co-operation between management and employees.
- Work organisation that provides employees with challenges, responsibilities and job autonomy.
- The development of new working methods and equipment to improve working postures and decrease the strain level of physical work.
- Allowing creative solutions for specific WHS/OHS problems.
- A thorough analysis of the different production costs that can be directly or indirectly related to health and safety hazards (costs of incidents, loss of productivity and quality, and other production costs due, for example, to the use of inadequate materials).
So what are the benefits of having the safe system of work?
| Direct Benefits | Indirect Benefits |
|---|---|
|
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Here are a couple of interesting quotes to finish off this article:
“High levels of worker productivity are critical to the success of all sorts of organisations, whether for-profit, government, or non-profit… As a result, health [and safety] risks and productivity are being discussed within corporate medical departments, executive suites, academic centres, and government agencies around the world.” (Brandt-Rauf et al, 2001:1)
“Studies measuring the effects of health [and safety] on worker productivity in the past 5 years have dramatically increased… driven by the desire of employers to understand and control health care costs… Better management of worker health [and safety] and related productivity outcomes may create a competitive business advantage.” (Sullivan, 2004:S56)
“Improving the fit between humans and tools inherently means a more effective match…. good design permits more output with less human effort.” (MacLeod, 1995:19)
Read More 
Schools are in fact quite high risk environments with a lot of various interests intertwined together.
Now when harmonisation has arrived – with the exception of Western Australia and Victoria all jurisdictions in Australia are now bound by the provisions of the harmonised work health and safety legislation. All businesses or undertakings operating in NSW, ACT, Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, including schools, must now comply with the legislation.
As was identified by SafeWork Australia a good school safety management system will:
Ensure health and safety responsibilities are identified and known, including responsibilities set out in health and safety legislation.
Have senior managers taking an active role in health and safety.
Encourage supervisor involvement in health and safety.
Have health and safety representatives who are actively and broadly involved in health and safety management system activity.
Have effective health and safety committees.
Have a planned approach to hazard identification and risk assessment.
Give high priority and consistent attention to control of hazards at source.
Have a comprehensive approach to workplace inspections and incident investigations.
Have developed purchasing systems, including contractor management solutions.
Do you know whether your school’s safety management system will measure up? How can you find out? As specialists in providing health and safety consulting services to the education sector we can assist by providing the following services in addition to helping you to build the above system:
- safety management system assessment (measurement, compliance and development)
- operational risk assessments
- health and safety training and coaching
- safety culture development
We can measure your existing safety management system’s capability and, if needs be, help you achieve compliance, best practice or certification level in Safety. Call now for a free, no obligation consultation: 8911 0408 or 1300 856 310 0 or email admin@outbacksafety.com.au
Read More 
Dear safety professionals
The Safety Institute of Australia (NT Branch) Conference Committee are organising the 6th Annual Workplace Health and Safety SIA NT Conference scheduled for 7-8 October this year.
Our objective is to make the 2015 Safety Conference engaging and informative with topics that resonate with today’s professionals in the NT.
To make this conference the best yet, we want to hear from you.
If you have any ideas, or would like to present something at this year’s conference, sent us an email of your thoughts, an abstract or paper to: martyn.hill@outbacksafety.com.au we’d love to hear from you.
Later this month, I will be sending out the sponsorship pack but if you would like to be a sponsor, please let me know (sponsorship rates start from as little as $250).
Thank you
Martyn Hill CFSIA RSP
Regional Representative – Northern Territory
PO Box 2078, Gladstone Park VIC 3043
M:: 0412 820 942
E: martyn.hill@outbacksafety.com.au
Website: www.sia.org.au
Download work health and safety conference survey here – 150215 SIA Conference Questionnaire R3
Read MoreRemote driving falls under the category remote or isolated work (reg 48 of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations NT).
So according to legislation, PCBU will have to provide safety system of work for drivers in remote with effective communication system (max penalty $30,000).
That means the following:
PCBU’s must manage risks to the health and safety of a worker associated with remote or isolated work
• Remote or isolated work in relation to a worker means work that is isolated from the assistance of other persons because of location, time or the nature of work e.g. regional drivers
• Assistance includes rescue, medical assistance and the attendance of emergency service workers PCBU’s must provide a system of work that includes effective communication with the worker. This could include:
• Personal security systems, radio or satellite communications, distress beacons
• Procedures for regular contact with the worker, emergency communication plan