From 1 July 2024, new requirements for Incident notification for plant and equipment under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (OHS Regulations) and the Equipment (Public Safety) Regulations 2017 (EPS Regulations) will commence.
Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017
From 1 July 2024, under the OHS regulations, the list of plant that is prescribed for incident notification has changed. An expanded type of plant will now require notification if involved in an incident.
Under the OHS regulations, employers and self-employed persons are required to notify WorkSafe when they become aware of an incident that immediately or imminently exposes a person a serious risk to their health or safety due to collapse, overturning, failure, or malfunction of, or damage to:
- plant that lifts or moves persons or materials (not including a ship, boat, aircraft, or vehicle designed to be used primarily as a means of transport on a public road or rail)
- pressure equipment
- tractors
- earth moving machinery
- scaffolds
- temporary access equipment
Equipment (Public Safety) Regulations 2017
From 1 July 2024, under the EPS regulations, the circumstances in which persons in charge of prescribed equipment at an equipment site will be required to notify WorkSafe of incidents involving plant will change.
From 1 July, notification will be required for prescribed plant and equipment if the incident immediately or imminently exposes a person a serious risk to their health or safety.
Before July, notification is required for incidents involving prescribed plant that exposed a person in the immediate vicinity of the equipment to an immediate risk to that person’s health or safety.
Why were changes made?
Before the new regulations, the list of plant that were prescribed as notifiable was relatively limited and did not include many types of plant commonly used that pose a higher risk such as tractors, quad bikes, forklifts, excavators and mining and quarrying equipment.
These changes will mean that WorkSafe will be better informed about serious safety incidents involving plant.
If you are unsure what incidents to report, please contact WorkSafe Victoria 13 23 60.
For more information on the changes, visit Worksafe Victoria.