Why do you need to do this?
WHS laws require all businesses — including sole traders and small businesses — to monitor their work conditions and respond appropriately to any incidents, accidents, or near misses. Companies that engage you need to understand what steps you take when something goes wrong during your work. This helps prevent repeat incidents and shows that you learn from experience and take safety seriously.
What should you do?
You need to provide a short explanation of how you currently manage incidents or near misses in your work. This helps demonstrate that you have a responsible and proactive approach, even if your work is low risk or you work alone.
Build your response:
Part 1: What's your immediate response process?
What do you do FIRST? (stop work, make safe, first aid)
Who do you notify? (client, supervisor, emergency services if serious)
Do you know when to notify government? (serious injuries to WorkSafe)
How do you record it? (incident book, form, photo, email)
Part 2: How do you investigate and fix problems?
How do you work out what went wrong? (ask questions, check equipment, review process)
What corrective actions do you take? (fix hazard, change procedure, get training)
How do you make sure it doesn't happen again? (update procedures, toolbox talk, monitor)
Write 3-4 sentences: Describe your actual incident response process, how you investigate causes, and what you do to prevent repeat incidents.
You need to provide the details of what you actually do when an incident or near miss happens.
This should reflect your real process, and ideally, it should be written down on your incident report form or included in your incident response procedure. This helps you stay consistent and gives clients confidence in how you manage safety.
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