Notifiable occurrences are applicable to duty holders in petroleum and geothermal energy operations.

A ‘notifiable occurrence’ is an unplanned event or situation that results in, or has the potential to result in, injury, ill health, damage or loss. An incident should first be assessed to determine whether it is a notifiable incident, and if it is not, then whether it is a notifiable occurrence.

Notifiable occurrences and an extended list of dangerous incidents are defined in the Work Health and Safety (PAGEO) Regulations 2022.  

The definition of ‘notifiable occurrences’ includes the following:

• an occurrence that did not cause, but could reasonably have been expected to cause — 
  • the death of, or serious personal injury to, a person; or
  • a worker to be incapacitated from performing work for a period of 3 or more days;
• the failure of a safety critical element to meet the requirements of the performance standard;
• the defect of, or damage to, a safety critical element;
• the significant defect of, or damage to, a primary petroleum containment;
• the significant defect of, or damage to, a structure, marine vessel or item of plant that forms part of an industrial, chemical or physical process performed on —
  • petroleum; or
  • fluid containing geothermal energy;
• a well kick that requires immediate action to bring under control;
• an event that requires the emergency response plan to be implemented;
• in relation to a diving operation —
  • a decompression illness; or
  • a pulmonary barotrauma; or
  • a case of omitted decompression; or 
  • an occurrence for which the standby diver is deployed for an emergency, except for the purposes of training, exercises or drills; or
  • a failure of life support equipment or man riding equipment;
• an occurrence of another kind that a reasonable operator would consider to require an immediate investigation.