E.08.07.01 Accident, Recording and Notification Requirements (inc. Serious Harm)

Accident recording and notification requirements under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and in accordance with Departmental policy.

• The Department meets its obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 ("the Act") by ensuring the following systems are in place to meet it's obligations under this Act.

  • It is not a requirement under that legislation (because prisoners engaged in prisoner employment activities are not our "employees"), the Department has a policy that every occurrence of "serious harm' to a prisoner engaged in prisoner employment actvities should be recorded in a register and reported to Occupational Health and Safety (OSH).

  • Section 25 (1) of the Act only requires that occurences of "serious harm" to employees at work be recorded in a register, it is the Department's policy that records also be kept of any occurance of "serious harm" to a prisoner engaged in prisoner employment activities.

  • Every occurence of "serious harm" to a prisoner engaged in prisoner employment activities should also be reported to OSH.  (This only applies where a prisoner suffers "serious harm" while engaged in prisoner employment activities; it does not apply where a prisoner, for example, suffers "serious harm" as a result of an assult by another prisoner).

  • In practice Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE) manage these processes.

Reporting Accidents to OSH

• The initial notification must be made as soon as possible after the occurrence of the serious harm.
• Written notice of the circumstances must be given, in the form prescribed by regulation within 7 days.
• A copy of the prescribed form can be accessed through the Related Links.
  • Copies of this form may be used as the pages of a register in which all accidents and occurrences of serious harm are recorded, or a similar form can be developed.
  • However, this form must be used (without alteration) for the purpose of notifying OSH of occurrences of "serious harm".

Definition of Serious Harm

The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 defines "serious harm" as:

1. Any of the following conditions that amounts to, or results in permanent loss of bodily function or temporary severe loss of bodily function:

   • respiratory disease, noise-induced hearing loss, neurological disease, cancer, dermatological disease, communicable disease, musculoskeletal disease, illness caused by exposure to infected material, decompression sickness, poisoning, vision impairment, chemical or hot metal burn of eye, penetrating wound of eye, bone fracture, laceration or crushing.

2. Amputation of body part.

3. Burns requiring referral to a specialist registered medical practitioner or specialist outpatient clinic.

4. Loss of consciousness from lack of oxygen.

5. Loss of consciousness, or acute illness requiring treatment by a registered medical practitioner, from absorption, inhalation, or ingestion, of any substance.

6. Any harm that causes the person harmed to be hospitalised for a period of 48 hours or more commencing within seven days of the harm's occurrence.

If management are uncertain about the severity of a particular accident or occurrence and whether or not it meets the definition of "serious harm", then OSH should be contacted to confirm whether or not it should be reported.

Please ensure that all managers and staff are aware of the Department's obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act and of the Departments policy in relation to recording and reporting occurrences of "serious harm" to prisoners engaged in prisoner employment activities.