Learn about your obligations under Work Health and Safety (WHS) law if you are a Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) restricted grant recipient.
On this page:
About Work Health and Safety laws
Providers who are recipients of the CCCF restricted grant must report WHS incidents to us and to the relevant state or territory WHS regulator.
WHS laws protect children, employees, contractors, subcontractors, outworkers, apprentices and trainees, work experience students, volunteers and employers who perform work, and visitors.
Notifiable WHS incidents
A WHS notifiable incident is defined as:
- the death of a person
- a serious injury or illness
- a dangerous incident.
You must report any such incident at your workplace or in the conduct of your business. This includes, for example, while a staff member or volunteer is performing an errand or providing transport services for your service.
Notifiable incidents may relate to any person including employees, children in your care, contractors and visitors.
Examples of notifiable incidents include:
- serious head injuries requiring immediate treatment at a hospital
- loss of vision or serious eye injury requiring immediate treatment
- serious burn requiring immediate treatment
- spinal injury that requires immediate treatment
- severe deep wound that requires immediate treatment.
For more information, including examples and treatments for notifiable incidents, refer to the SafeWork Australia Incident Notification Information Sheet.
Safe Work Australia is responsible for national WHS policy. For more information, visit Safe Work Australia.
What you must do if there is an incident
You have two levels of reporting to meet your WHS obligations:
- You must notify your WHS state or territory regulator.
- You must notify us.
The obligation to report WHS incidents is in addition to the obligation to report serious incidents.
Notifying your state or territory regulator
If a serious injury or illness occurs in the workplace, you must contact and follow the directions of your state or territory WHS regulator.
WHS is managed by the state and territories and Safe Work Australia. It sets WHS policy and obligations.
For more information refer to the Safe Work Australia website, the incident notification information sheet and your local regulator.
| Jurisdiction | WHS regulator | Telephone | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | WorkSafe ACT | 02 6207 3000 | worksafe.act.gov.au/healthsafety |
| New South Wales | SafeWork NSW | 13 10 50 | safework.nsw.gov.au |
| Northern Territory | NT WorkSafe | 1800 019 115 | worksafe.nt.gov.au |
| Queensland | WorkSafe Queensland | 1300 369 915 | worksafe.qld.gov.au |
| South Australia | SafeWork SA | 1800 777 209 | safework.sa.gov.au |
| Tasmania | WorkSafe Tasmania | 1300 366 322 | worksafe.tas.gov.au |
| Victoria | WorkSafe Victoria | 1800 136 089 | worksafe.vic.gov.au |
| Western Australia | WorkSafe WA | 1300 307 877 | commerce.wa.gov.au/worksafe |
Notifying us
When a notifiable WHS incident has occurred, you must immediately notify us via the CCCF Restricted grant Work Health and Safety notifiable incident form.
You must immediately notify us if you are directed to stop working at your service as it is unsafe under WHS laws.
You must also notify the department within 24 hours if:
- you feel any employee or individuals within your service is breaking WHS laws
- any WHS Entry Permit holder or an inspector is at your service or where care is being provided
- the WHS regulator has instructed you or has informed you of a decision or request.
You must also give us copies of all notices and correspondence you receive from the WHS regulator within 24 hours of receiving them.
Within 14 days, you must complete a detailed report for the department and email this to us at CCCFRestricted@education.gov.au
The report must include:
- circumstances of the incident
- results of the investigations into its cause
- any recommendations or strategies for preventing such an incident occurring again.
Notifications relating to COVID-19
State and territory regulators have requirements around the reporting of WHS incidents where a person in the workplace contracts COVID-19 and is treated in hospital or subsequently dies.
Such incidents must also be reported to us.
Your obligation is to check your WHS regulator website for the most current information on this and other requirements related to those who contract COVID-19 in the workplace.
Resources, other information
For information on how to reduce risks and protect children from injury and harm, see the ACECQA website.