Queensland Consolidated Acts

MINING AND QUARRYING SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 1999 - SECT 195A

195A Requirement to give primary information

(1) For conducting an investigation into a serious accident, high potential incident or death at a mine, an officer may require a person to give the officer any of the following information (
"primary information" ) about the accident, incident or death—

(a) the precise location where the accident, incident or death happened;

(b) when the accident, incident or death happened;

(c) the number of persons involved in the accident, incident or death;

(d) if the notification is about a death, whether or not caused by an accident—the name of the person who died;

(e) if the notification is about a serious accident or high potential incident—

(i) the name of any person who saw the accident or incident, or who was present when the accident or incident happened; and

(ii) the name of any person who was injured as a result of the accident or incident;

(f) if no-one was present when the person mentioned in paragraph (d) died or the person mentioned in paragraph (e) (ii) was injured—the name of the person who found the deceased or injured person;

(g) a brief description of how the accident, incident or death happened.

Examples of types of descriptions that may be given under paragraph (g)—

• ‘A light vehicle fell into the pit after the light vehicle collided with a truck on a ramp leading into the pit.’

• ‘A worker fell from the top of a storage bin into the wash plant.’

(2) When making a requirement mentioned in subsection (1) , the officer must warn the person it is an offence to fail to comply with the requirement.

(3) A person required to give primary information under subsection (1) must comply with the requirement.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—40 penalty units.

(4) If the officer requires the person to give the officer primary information, it is not a defence in a proceeding under subsection (3) that the giving of the primary information might tend to incriminate the person, unless, in relation to an accident or incident—

(a) the person is an involved person; and

(b) the primary information is the information mentioned in subsection (1) (g) .

(5) Primary information given under subsection (1) is not admissible in evidence against the person in any criminal proceeding.

(6) Subsection (5) does not prevent the primary information being admitted in evidence in criminal proceedings about the falsity or misleading nature of the primary information.

(7) In this section—

"involved person" , for an accident or incident, means an individual who was directly involved in the accident or incident.

Example of an individual who is directly involved in an accident or incident—

• a member of the crew of the deceased or injured person, who was present at the accident or incident

• an individual who was operating plant involved in the accident or incident

"officer" means an inspector, inspection officer or an authorised officer.