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Work health and safetyModel WHS lawsMinimum retention

Notifiable incident records

How long should Australian businesses keep notifiable incident records, and when does the clock start?

Keep for5 years
Clock startsThe regulator is notified
Applies toPersons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs)

Where this applies. The model WHS laws apply in the Commonwealth, NSW, Queensland, SA, Tasmania, the ACT, the NT and WA (WA with variations). Victoria has a different law (OHS Act 2004). Its periods are not shown here.

General information, not legal advice or permission to destroy a record. Coverage may be incomplete or out of date. Check the official text, other applicable obligations and any investigations, disputes or legal holds before disposal. Get advice for your situation. Terms of use.

Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) must keep notifiable incident records for at least 5 years. Clock starts: the regulator is notified.

A record of each notifiable incident: a death, serious injury or illness, or dangerous incident.

This is the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 requirement. The same records can also fall under other laws. See other terms that apply.

The terms

s 38(7)Work Health and Safety Act 2011
5 years
from the day that notice of the incident is given to the regulator under this section

Conditions and exceptions Caution

None stated in the provisions.

The law

Work Health and Safety Act 2011, s 38(7) · Duty to notify of notifiable incidentsOfficial text ↗
A person conducting a business or undertaking must keep a record of each notifiable incident for at least 5 years from the day that notice of the incident is given to the regulator under this section.
Text as at 1 July 2024

Other terms that apply to these records

This page covers notifiable incident records on their own. The same file is often caught by other laws as well, with different periods and start dates. See why a legal term is not a schedule.

3 records. 3 sets of rules. They don't agree.

One business file can hold all of these at once.

Notifiable incident records5yWork Health and Safety Act 2011, s 38(7) · the regulator is notified
Health and exposure monitoring records30–40yWork Health and Safety Regulations 2011, r 378(1), r 418(1), r 444(1), r 50(2) · the record is made
Personal information no longer neededDestroyPrivacy Act 1988, Schedule 1, APP 11.2, APP 4.3 · no longer needed for any permitted purpose

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