Victorian Current Acts

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2004 - SECT 38

Duty to notify of incidents

S. 38(1) amended by No. 48/2017 s. 12(1).

    (1)     An employer or self-employed person must not, without reasonable excuse, fail to notify the Authority immediately after becoming aware that an incident has occurred at a workplace under the management and control of the employer or self‑employed person.

    (2)     However, an employer or self-employed person is not required to notify the Authority if the employer or self-employed person is the only person injured or otherwise harmed, or exposed to risk, as described in section 37 by the incident.

    (3)     Within 48 hours after being required to notify the Authority, the employer or self-employed person must also give the Authority a written record of the incident, in the form approved in writing by the Authority.

    (4)     The employer or self-employed person must keep a copy of the record for at least 5 years and make a copy of the record available for inspection by—

        (a)     an inspector; or

S. 38(4)(b) amended by No. 10/2022 s. 48.

        (b)     a person, or a representative of a person, injured in the incident or whose health or safety was exposed to serious risk by the incident; or

        (c)     a representative of a person whose death was caused by the incident; or

        (d)     in the case only of an employer

              (i)     if any of the employees of the employer are members of a designated work group, a health and safety representative for the designated work group; or

              (ii)     the members of each health and safety committee (if any) established by the employer.

    (5)     An employer or self-employed person who contravenes subsection (1), (3) or (4) is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding—

S. 38(5)(a) substituted by No. 48/2017 s. 12(2).

        (a)     in the case of a natural person, 240 penalty units; or

S. 38(5)(b) substituted by No. 48/2017 s. 12(2).

        (b)     in the case of a body corporate, 1200 penalty units.

S. 38(6) inserted by No. 48/2017 s. 12(3).

    (6)     An offence against subsection (5) is an indictable offence.

Note

However, the offence may be heard and determined summarily (see section 28 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 ).



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