Notifiable Events for Adventure Activities

What is a notifiable event?

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), a notifiable event is any of the following:

• The death of a person
• A notifiable injury or illness (one that requires, or would usually require, a person to be admitted to hospital for immediate treatment)
• A notifiable incident (an unplanned or uncontrolled incident that exposes any person to a serious risk of death or serious injury/illness)

If a notifiable event occurs in your workplace, you must notify WorkSafe as soon as possible after becoming aware of it (HSWA s.56).

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Adventure-activity specific rules

The Health and Safety at Work (Adventure Activities) Regulations 2016 define additional notifiable events that apply specifically to adventure activity operators.

Notifiable incidents for adventure activities (Regulation 19A)

As well as the standard HSWA notifiable incidents, adventure activity operators must notify WorkSafe of any incident where a participant:

• Encounters a natural hazard not routinely encountered in that activity (flooding, landslip, snowfall, avalanche, earthquake, lightning)
• Is exposed to safety-critical equipment failure or defect (harness, rope, belay device, raft, vessel, vehicle, or similar)
• Becomes entrapped or entangled in equipment or terrain
• Falls from height in a way that was unplanned or uncontrolled
• Collides with an object, the ground, or another person in a way that was unplanned or uncontrolled
• Is involved in a vehicle collision, overturn, or inrush of water (including ATVs, jet boats, rafts)
• Is involved in a vessel collision or overturn

These are incidents -- they do not need to result in injury to be notifiable. If the event exposed a person to a serious risk, notify WorkSafe regardless of outcome.

Notifiable injuries for adventure activities (Regulation 19B)

For adventure activities, a notifiable injury or illness includes any injury or illness (however minor it might appear) that requires, or would usually require, medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to the cause.

This is broader than the standard HSWA threshold, which only covers injuries requiring immediate hospitalisation.

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How to notify WorkSafe

Notify WorkSafe as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the event.

Phone: 0800 030 040 -- available 24 hours, 7 days

Online notification: Notify WorkSafe online ↗ -- log in and complete the online notification form

If an event requires emergency services, call 111 first.

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What happens after you notify?

WorkSafe may investigate the event. They will assess:

• Whether the event meets the notifiable threshold
• Whether your Safety Management System adequately identified and controlled the risk
• Whether your emergency response was appropriate

You must preserve the site of a notifiable event until a WorkSafe inspector has attended or given you permission to proceed (HSWA s.57). Do not disturb the site except to assist injured persons, make it safe, or comply with a coroner's direction.

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Record-keeping requirements

You must keep records of all notifiable events for at least 5 years from the date of notification (HSWA s.57). Records should include:

• Date, time, and location
• Description of the event
• Who was involved (staff and participants)
• Injuries or harm caused (if any)
• Notification sent to WorkSafe (when and how)
• Actions taken in response
• Corrective measures implemented

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Not the same as "notifiable work"

Notifiable events (HSWA s.56) are different from notifiable work -- which refers to certain types of hazardous construction and installation work that require advance notification before work begins. Adventure activities are not typically classified as notifiable work.

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How this relates to your SMS

Your Safety Management System should document:

• A clear process for recognising and reporting notifiable events
• Who is responsible for notifying WorkSafe
• How the site will be preserved pending WorkSafe attendance
• How the event will be investigated internally
• How corrective actions will be identified and tracked

See also: Incident Reporting -- step by step and the Incident Report Template.