The hours after a serious workplace incident are chaotic, and the decisions made in them have consequences that run for years. Knowing the sequence in advance is the only way to handle it well.
Immediate priorities, in order
- Care for people. Emergency services, first aid, and getting anyone else out of danger.
- Make the area safe to prevent further harm — isolate energy, stop plant, restrict access.
- Notify WorkSafe as soon as possible. For serious events this means by telephone immediately, followed by written notification.
- Preserve the scene.
- Support the people involved, including witnesses and workmates, who are frequently badly affected.
Site preservation is a legal obligation
The site must be preserved so far as reasonably practicable until an inspector directs otherwise. Limited exceptions allow disturbance to help an injured person, remove a deceased person, make the site safe, or where a constable directs.
The instinct after an incident is to clean up and resume. Doing so before WorkSafe releases the scene is an offence in its own right, separate from whatever caused the incident, and it destroys evidence that might have supported your position as easily as undermined it.
What is notifiable
Deaths, notifiable injuries or illnesses, and notifiable incidents. The category most often missed is the last — incidents where nobody was hurt but a person was exposed to a serious risk. Uncontrolled fire or explosion, electric shock, something falling from height, collapse of a structure or excavation, uncontrolled escape of a substance.
Over-notifying carries no penalty. Failing to notify is a separate offence that consistently makes the overall position worse.
The investigation
WorkSafe assesses each notification and decides whether to investigate. Where an inspector attends, expect them to secure the scene, take photographs and measurements, seize equipment or documents, and interview people.
Inspectors have statutory powers to require information and documents. Cooperation is required and is also sensible — obstruction makes everything worse.
Get legal advice immediately, before interviews where possible. This is not about being obstructive; it is that statements made in the first days, by people who are distressed and do not know what matters, shape a prosecution years later.
Individuals may have their own interests distinct from the company’s, particularly supervisors and officers, and separate advice may be appropriate.
Run your own investigation as well
You have your own duty to understand what happened and prevent recurrence. Your investigation should:
- Establish the facts before memories fade — but coordinate with the regulator so you do not interfere with theirs.
- Look for system causes rather than stopping at the person nearest the harm. “Worker error” is a starting point, not a conclusion — why was the error possible, and why did the controls not prevent it?
- Consider legal privilege. Advice on how the investigation is structured is worth taking, because reports can be discoverable.
- Result in actual changes with owners and dates.
Supporting people
The injured person and their family need practical support — contact, information, help with ACC. So do witnesses and workmates, who frequently experience significant psychological effects and are commonly overlooked.
How an organisation treats people after an incident is watched closely by everyone who remains, and it shapes whether they report anything in future.
What follows
Outcomes range from no further action, through improvement or prohibition notices, to prosecution in serious cases. Prosecutions can be brought against the PCBU and, in defined circumstances, against officers personally.
Penalties are substantial, and fines cannot be insured against — a deliberate design choice. Reparation to victims may be ordered, and that generally can be insured.
Investigations and prosecutions run for a long time. Businesses should expect the matter to be live for a year or more, which has its own effect on the people involved.
Other obligations
Where personal information is involved, privacy obligations apply to how you handle it. ACC claims processes run alongside. Your insurer should be notified under statutory liability and any other relevant cover.
Media interest is possible for serious events. Have one person handling it, and do not comment on cause while an investigation is running.
The preparation that helps
Before anything happens: a short written incident response procedure covering who to call and in what order, the notifiable categories posted where supervisors will see them, a 24-hour contact for WorkSafe, contact details for your lawyer and insurer, and a named person responsible for family liaison.
That document should exist somewhere accessible, not on the system that may be inaccessible.
WorkSafe publishes the notifiable event categories, notification process and a 24-hour line free at worksafe.govt.nz.
General information only, not legal advice. Take advice immediately after a serious incident.
