Notification of incidents to the regulator — Know your obligations

The identification and elimination of risks to the health and safety of workers and guests is a constant challenge for caravan holiday park owners and managers.

Vigilance, meticulous recording of hazards or potential hazards, and the prompt actioning of hazard removal are all part of a manager’s day-to-day operations.

Even when a park has the best plans in place to combat identified risks, incidents still occur. When this happens, what do you need to do?

Your obligations

Workplaces have an obligation to notify the relevant Safe Work regulator in your state once a serious incident occurs. Serious incidents are classed as work-related death, serious injury, illness, or a dangerous incident.

The relevant authorities must be notified as soon as possible after the incident has occurred. In most states and territories, very large fines exist for both organisations and individuals who don’t notify the regulator about a notifiable incident occurring.

Regulators will invariably be notified of incidents such as death or serious injury. But what about the many near misses that happens every day around the country? From a large tree falling down in a park full of caravans, to an uncontrolled spillage of chemicals – you must report these incidents.

It’s worth noting your workers have the right to let authorities know about these close calls too, as do members of the public!

An example of this could be a customer staying in your park who witnesses a work activity being carried out by an employee of yours that could result in a serious injury. An example is lopping tree branches without wearing the appropriate PPE, or not taking the appropriate steps to ensure the work area is cordoned off. 

There’s no legal obligation for customers to notify the regulator in these types of scenarios, but it’s a useful reminder of who might be watching your workers carrying out work.

Of course, the best way to avoid this is to have sound risk management processes in place, so always be vigilant and, above all, stay safe.