Most Australian organisations take workplace health and safety seriously and understand reporting incidents is essential for maintaining standards and preventing future incidents. But do your employees report all relevant incidents?

“Organisations often assume their employees understand what to report. Yet it is commonly only incidents that require treatment or hazards impacting on employees performing their job that are reported,” says Sarah Will, Injury Management and Safety Manager, Acclaimed Workforce.

By promptly reporting accidents, injuries, or near misses, workers can help identify potential hazards and implement necessary preventive measures. Furthermore, incident reporting provides valuable data that can be analysed to identify trends and patterns, allowing employers and safety professionals to develop targeted strategies for risk reduction. It helps in understanding the root causes of incidents and implementing effective controls to prevent similar incidents in the future.

When successful and supported by effective safety management and maintenance processes, reporting can assist organisations in significantly reducing incidents. For many organisations, WorkCover premiums can constitute a substantial overhead. According to Sarah, incident reporting becomes an effective way to improve employee wellbeing and reduce costs.

What are the challenges employees face in reporting incidents?

There are many challenges organisations need to consider in relation to incident reporting. This starts with identifying the actual barriers faced by employees. These may include:

• Fear of retaliation: Workers may hesitate to report incidents due to fear of retaliation or negative consequences. While it may not occur across your organisation, remember one or a few supervisors or leaders can create barriers.

• Lack of awareness or understanding: Some workers may not fully understand the importance of incident reporting or be unaware of the reporting procedures.

• Time constraints: Reporting incidents can be time-consuming, especially for workers already busy with their primary job responsibilities.

• Language barriers: In multicultural work environments, language barriers may hinder incident reporting because employees don’t fully comprehend safety inductions and training and/or cannot complete the required documentation.

• Perception of reporting as unnecessary or futile: Some workers may perceive reporting incidents as unnecessary or futile, especially if they believe nothing will be done to address the reported issues.

• Lack of documentation or evidence: In some cases, incidents may go unreported due to a lack of documentation or evidence.

• Inadequate reporting systems: If the incident reporting systems are cumbersome or not user-friendly, workers may be less likely to report incidents.

If you do use a labour hire/recruitment company, it is also essential to remember your dual responsibility. As the Host Employer, don’t assume the labour hire company (the employer) is aware.

Why incidents should be reported

According to Sarah Will, creating a mindset where overreporting is preferred to underreporting takes continuous effort but is worth it. It is understandable why employees can be confused about reporting, as it is easy to dismiss minor incidents and near misses.

For example, we had an incident where an employee knocked their elbow on an adjustment knob and a few days later, their elbow became inflamed, resulting in afterhours medical assistance and time off for recovery. When investigating the incident after treatment, it became evident that other employees had bumped their arm/elbow, but no one thought it was necessary to report it. If it had been reported, it would have been assessed and addressed before this incident.

Sarah also says another common occurrence is back strain due to prolonged physical activity. Most organisations rotate employees from one task to another to prevent strains from repetitive activity. However, if every employee is not clear on what to do if they are not relieved from a task, it can lead unnecessarily to back strain.

“It is often the near misses and hazards that become incidents unnecessarily,” says Sarah. “Everyone is responsible for safety, both employers and their employers. It is a key component of any job.”

Fostering an incident reporting culture

So, how do you develop a culture that encourages incident reporting? It starts with incorporating safety into your strategy, ensuring all people leaders are clear on their responsibilities, and modelling safety behaviours. Promoting open communication, providing regular and ongoing education and training, recognising and rewarding efforts to reinforce the desired behaviour, making reporting easy, following up on reports and providing feedback are necessary elements. Sharing examples during meetings and toolbox talks can clarify expectations and get people thinking.

It is also essential for employees to see actions resulting from reporting incidents so they know reporting will result in change.



Work Safe Australia and state-based authorities offer a host of resources. Acclaimed Workforce assists clients with resources and safety management support. For further information, contact us today.