You must notify us so we can investigate the events that caused the serious injury, or have the potential to cause serious injury when an aircraft is in operation.

You must notify us if someone:

  • suffers a notifiable injury as a result of work while an aircraft was in operation, or
  • suffers an injury that requires or would usually require them to be admitted to hospital for immediate treatment, or
  • is injured through exposure to a substance which requires, or would normally require them to receive medical treatment within 48 hours of the injury occurring.

You only need to notify us if the serious injury occurred while carrying out the work, or as a result of work, that your business is responsible for carrying out. Injuries might be caused by a number of factors including:

  • the condition of the work site,
  • malfunction of equipment,
  • the way the work activity is organised, or
  • the way equipment or substances are used.

You do NOT need to notify us about injuries that are not related to work, or injuries that only require minor first aid to treat them.

If a person has suffered the amputation of any part of the body, that requires immediate treatment other than first aid, you MUST notify us.

Amputation includes:

  • a limb (eg. an arm or leg)
  • other parts of the body (eg. hand, foot, finger, toe, nose, ear)

If a person has suffered a serious head injury, that requires immediate treatment other than first aid, then you MUST notify us.

Includes:

  • fractured skull
  • losing consciousness
  • blood clot or bleeding in the brain
  • damage to the skull that may affect organ or facial function
  • temporary or permanent memory loss from a head injury.

If a person has suffered a serious eye injury that requires immediate treatment other than first aid, then you MUST notify us.

A serious eye injury includes:

  • injury that results in, or is likely to result in the loss of an eye or vision - total or partial
  • injury caused by an object entering the eye (eg metal fragment, wood chip)
  • contact with any substance that could cause serious eye damage.

Does NOT include exposure to a substance or object that only causes discomfort to the eye.

If a person has suffered a serious burn that requires intensive or critical care such as a compression garment or skin graft, then you MUST notify us. 

You do NOT need to contact us if the burn can be treated by washing the wound and applying a dressing.

If a person has suffered a spinal injury that requires immediate treatment other than first aid, then you MUST notify us. 

Includes an injury to the cervical, thoracic, lumbar or sacral vertebrae, including discs and spinal cord.

Does NOT include back strain or bruising. 

If a person has suffered the loss of a bodily function that requires immediate treatment other than first aid (eg. through electric shock or acute reaction to a substance used at work) you MUST notify us. 

Includes loss of:

  • consciousness (includes fainting due to a work-related cause eg. from exposure to a harmful substance or heat)
  • speech
  • movement of a limb (eg. long bone fractures)
  • function of an internal organ
  • senses (eg. smell, touch, taste, sight or hearing)

Does NOT include:

  • fainting not due to a work-related cause
  • a sprain, strain or fracture that does not require hospitalisation (except for skull and spinal fractures).

If a person has suffered serious lacerations that require immediate treatment other than first aid, then you MUST notify us.

Serious lacerations include:

  • serious deep cuts that cause muscle, tendon, nerve or blood vessel damage, or permanent impairment
  • tears to flesh or tissue which may require stitching, gluing or other treatment to prevent loss of blood or bodily function and/or getting infected.

Does NOT include: 

  • superficial cuts treatable by cleaning the wound and applying a dressing
  • lacerations that only require a few stitches at a GP
  • minor tears to flesh or tissue.

If a person has suffered an injury resulting in skin separating from underlying tissue (degloving or scalping), that requires immediate treatment other than first aid, then you MUST notify us.

This includes skin separating from underlying tissue where tendons, bones, or muscles are exposed.

‘Admitted to hospital’ means being admitted to hospital as an inpatient for any length of time.
Does NOT include being taken to hospital for out-patient treatment by a hospital’s A&E department, or for corrective surgery at a later time, such as straightening a broken nose.

'Immediate treatment' is urgent treatment, and includes treatment by a registered medical practitioner, registered nurse or paramedic.
If immediate treatment is not readily available (eg. because the person became seriously ill at a remote site), the notification must still be made.

For example, burns from skin exposure or inhalation of toxic chemicals that require medical treatment.

Medical treatment is considered to be a treatment by a registered medical practitioner (e.g. a doctor).

What you must do

1. Preserve the site

The person who manages or controls the workplace must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the site where the notifiable event occurred is preserved and not disturbed until a CAA Investigator authorises you to do so.

The site may only be disturbed if:

  • you need to remove the injured person
  • it's essential to make the site safe or minimise the risk of someone else being hurt or killed
  • directed to do so by the Police
  • permitted by CAA or a CAA Investigator..

To ensure the site is not disturbed:

  • the work set-up should not be changed
  • any plant, substances or other things involved in the event should stay where they are
  • work that could interfere with the site of the event should stop; work may continue in other parts of the workplace
  • no alterations should be made to the plant, vehicles, or structures involved. 

2. Notify the CAA 

If someone is seriously injured as a result of work while an aircraft was in operation, then: 

  • You must notify us as soon as possible after you become aware that someone has been injured
  • The notification must be made even if emergency services attend
  • Only one notification is required for each notifiable event.

If there are multiple businesses involved with the work, then one of the businesses should be nominated to notify the CAA..

Note that all business involved with the work are responsible for making sure that the notification is made by the nominated business.

3. Keep records

You must keep records of all notifiable events for at least five years from the date of the event.

How to notify us

You must notify us using the fastest means available to you.

  1. Phone 0508 ACCIDENT (0508 222 433), or
  2. Download and complete the printable PDF form - Notification of a death or notifiable injury or notifiable illness [PDF 354 KB]

Provide us with as much detail as possible about what has happened. You will receive an acknowledgement that the notification has been received.

What happens next?

Once we have received your notification, it will be reviewed by our response team. They will contact you about the next steps. There are a number of options available, including conducting an investigation or inviting the duty-holder to participate in an assisted review of your health and safety system.

If no action is required, we will confirm this with you.

While there is no requirement under HSWA for you to conduct your own investigation of a notifiable event, investigations can form part of good practice to identify and manage work risk.

After a notifiable event occurs, you should consider:

  • investigating what happened
  • working out what you can do to stop this happening again
  • making changes.