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Through leadership and individual commitment, Defence aims to ensure no person will suffer a serious preventable work related injury or illness. The protection of our people is paramount. At times we require our people to operate in environments of extreme risk and hazard due to the nature of military operations. However, at all times we will manage risk to ensure that when risks are taken they are understood, accounted for, and integrated into our plans and the way we operate. The responsibility for work health and safety, both physical and mental, belongs to everyone. We will strive to make measurable improvement in our work health and safety performance through the implementation of the Defence Work Health and Safety Strategy. Sentinel is the preferred method for notification and reporting of all WHS Incidents in Defence, for all personnel with access to the Defence Restricted Network (DRN). The AE527 - Sentinel Event Report - Non Defence Restricted Network (DRN) users, is the notification and reporting form for all WHS incidents in Defence. This report form must be completed even if a DISCON signal (FATALCAS and NOTICAS) has been raised. The use of this form is only for use by Defence employees (ADF, Civilian and Reservists) as well as ADF Cadets, contractors and visitors who do not have access to the Defence Restricted Network (DRN). It is to be completed and sent to a Defence contact who can enter the Incident into Sentinel on your behalf. AE527 - Sentinel Event Report - Non Defence Restricted Network (DRN) Users (PDF, 209.46 KB) This information is collected in accordance with legislative requirements to notify Comcare and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency of certain WHS incidents and to maintain a record of WHS incident management in Defence. It may be used to trigger an investigation by the relevant Defence Group or Service. This form is not a claim for compensation. However, WHS incident data is available to support compensation or rehabilitation claims. Information on this form is collected under the authority of the Defence Act 1903, Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act 2011, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (ARPANS Act). The information on this form is protected according to privacy principles in the Privacy Act 1998. A WHS incident is any accident (including near miss) incident or event that is caused in the course of Defence work, which involves: This includes WHS incidents for all Defence workers including ADF, APS, Cadets, and third parties (contractors or the general public). Defence Contractors may have dual reporting requirements both to the Commonwealth and to the State or Territory WHS Authority. Severity Definition Fatality - (Notifiable to Comcare and reportable to Defence) WHS ACT - Section 35-36 An incident resulting in a work-related death of any person including a member of the public, a contractor or a worker, whether or not it occurred at a workplace, will be notifiable if it arises out of the conduct of the employer's undertaking. It is also notifiable if it arises out of work performed by an employee in connection with their employer's undertaking. Serious Injury or Illness - (Notifiable to Comcare and reportable to Defence) WHS ACT - Section 35-36 Section 36 of the WHS Act sets out that a serious injury or illness of a person is an injury or illness requiring the person to have: In the case of a serious injury or illness it does not matter whether a person actually received treatment, just that the injury or illness could reasonably be considered to warrant such treatment. The Work Health and Safety Regulations (the Regulations) may include or exclude other injuries or illnesses as 'serious injuries or illnesses' for the purposes of section 36 of the WHS Act. Dangerous Incident - (Notifiable to Comcare and reportable to Defence) WHS ACT - Section 35-36 Section 37 of the WHS Act sets out that a dangerous incident is an incident in relation to a workplace that exposes a worker or any other person to a serious risk to a person’s health or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to: The Regulations may include or exclude other incidents as being ‘dangerous incidents’ for the purposes of section 37 of the WHS Act, however the Regulations are currently silent on this. For most hazards such as plant, or a structure collapsing, a person will need to be in the immediate vicinity to be exposed to a serious risk to their health and safety. However, some hazards such as an uncontrolled leak of a hazardous gas or a fire can travel towards a person and expose them to a serious risk to health and safety away from the original source. A dangerous incident includes both immediate serious risks to health or safety, and also a risk from an immediate exposure to a substance which is likely to create a serious risk to health or safety in the future, for example asbestos or chemicals. Exposure - (Reportable to Defence) Where an exposure and or potential exposure to a substance/material including workplace hazards or exposure to a traumatic event has occurred that does not result in any immediate effects, and does not fall within the dangerous incidents definitions for immediate or imminent exposure. Minor Injury - (Reportable to Defence) Any minor injury that did not result in a fatality, serious injury or illness or a dangerous incident, that was a direct result of either a Defence undertaking and or occurred in a Defence controlled workplace. Near Miss - (Reportable to Defence) An incident where no person is injured, but could have been injured, resulting in serious injury or death but where the risk to a person's health that was not immediate or imminent and the incident does not fall within the definitions of a dangerous incident. Defence personnel are required to submit Defence WHS incidents in accordance with Defence policy. All work health and safety (WHS) incidents related to employment in Defence, or as a result of a Defence undertaking, are to be reported using Sentinel. This includes WHS incidents for all Defence employees, cadets and third parties (contractors and the general public). The Work Health and Safety (WHS) Branch collects data on WHS incidents under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the Australian Radiation and Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (ARPANSA). Some incidents require additional notification to the regulators, Comcare and ARPANSA. Under Part 3 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 Defence has a duty to notify the regulator of defined notifiable incidents that have arisen out of Defence directed/controlled activities immediately after becoming aware that the incident has occurred. Notification in the first instance must be by phone - 1300 366 979. Seek advice from the Comcare contact regarding site preservation and submission of written notification of the incident. If the incident has been identified as a notifiable to Comcare the incident will be automatically submitted once the supervisor has completed the required supporting information in the Sentinel Event Module. WHS Report CompletionThe Supervisor of the person involved, or reporting the incident, is responsible for ensuring that all relevant sections of the WHS incident report are completed within the prescribed timeframes. The role of Supervisor is assigned to the person who was supervising the Casualty/Casualties as at the time of the incident and/or was in charge of the Defence work area at the time of the incident. Information to include on the Sentinel Event (Incident) ReportComplete form ensuring all mandatory fields are valid and form is submitted electronically to the Defence contact notified on the form in order to have it uploaded and entered into Sentinel. Provide as much information as possible, clearly describing what happened. General public or contractorsDefence employees (ADF and APS) are also to complete the AD 088 - Comcover Notification Record, where an incident involves a member of the general public or a contractor. For further information please refer to the Defence Insurance Office website or phone 1800 990 900. The AD 088 can be found on the Web Forms system. Different reporting procedures apply to Defence internal reporting and Commonwealth regulators; Comcare, and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
The Defence WHS Incident Reporting Timeframes outline the mandatory reporting timeframes applicable to work health and safety incidents. Timeframes for notifying and notifying Comcare are mandated by legislation. The table below shows the reporting procedure. WHS Incident Severity Type:
WHS Incident Severity Type:
The distribution procedures for groups and services are different across Defence. While specific group and service distribution should be sought, it is recommended that a copy of the WHS Incident Report be placed:
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