What is a workplace hazard?

A hazard is a source or a situation with the potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill-health, damage to property, damage to the environment, or a combination of these.

Hazards at work may include noisy machinery, a moving forklift, chemicals, electricity, working at heights, a repetitive job, or inappropriate behaviour that can cause harm to people or damage to property in a workplace.

How do I report a workplace hazard, incident or injury?

To report a workplace related death, serious life threatening incident or disease, please contact WorkSafe immediately by phone on 1800 678 198.

To report all other non-life threatening hazards, you can contact WorkSafe by phone on 1300 307 877, or email wscallcentre@demirs.wa.gov.au.

WorkSafe recommends reporting and trying to resolve workplace safety complaints internally first.

The Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WHS Act) helps to manage workplace hazards by encouraging workers and the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to discuss and solve issues together.

Where consultation in the workplace has not resolved the problem, it may be necessary to report the matter to WorkSafe and request an inspector’s intervention.

Who can complain?

Anyone can report workplace safety issues to WorkSafe, but first-hand reports are given higher priority.

When submitting a report on behalf of someone else, it is imperative that you have their permission to do so. You should also encourage them to contact WorkSafe directly.

By providing your contact details, an inspector can reach out to you to discuss your complaint. Your contact details are kept confidential and will not be revealed to anyone outside of WorkSafe without your consent.

In certain circumstances, WorkSafe is unable to conduct an investigation unless they are able to contact you to obtain further information. When investigating claims of inappropriate workplace behaviour, WorkSafe cannot guarantee your anonymity and so an inspector will only proceed with your consent.

What information do I need to provide?

• Who is involved?
  • the people/businesses that are involved in the unsafe acts at a workplace.
• What unsafe practices are taking place?
  • specific details of what you have observed and why you believe it to be unsafe at a workplace.
• Where are the unsafe practices taking place?
  • an exact street address of the workplace where the unsafe practices are taking place, or enough information on the address to allow an inspector to find the site.
• When did the unsafe practices occur?
  • information on whether the unsafe practices at a workplace are currently occurring or what dates and times the unsafe working practices first occurred.
• How did you become aware of the situation?
  • it is important to confirm if the information you have given is first-hand experience at a workplace or if it was passed on to you through other sources
  • it is also necessary to confirm if you have experienced the situation first-hand. This is so that if an inspector does investigate, they know who to contact for further information.
• What consultation with management has occurred?
  • WorkSafe needs to know if the PCBU, supervisor, and health and safety representatives have been consulted in the workplace.

What happens next?

The information you have provided will be passed on to our Operations Directorate where it will be classified in line with the Criteria for Investigation publication. Not all complaints will result in an investigation by an inspector. If further information is needed to clarify your concerns, the inspector may contact you to ask additional questions and discuss your complaint.

If an investigation takes place and reveals any violations of the work health and safety legislation, WorkSafe will take appropriate enforcement action.  This may include the issue of an improvement notice or prohibition notice, prosecution action, other sanctions or any combination of these..

For more information, please refer to WorkSafe Commissioner’s compliance and enforcement, and prosecution policies.

What will I find out?

When you provide contact details to WorkSafe, you will be provided with a reference number confirming your concern has been lodged. Should you contact WorkSafe again to add to the same complaint, you will need to quote this reference number.

You can ask WorkSafe to keep your contact details confidential. However, in certain circumstances, WorkSafe will not be able to conduct an investigation unless they are able to contact you to obtain further information.

When investigating claims of inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, your anonymity cannot be guaranteed by WorkSafe. Additionally, an investigation will not be conducted unless your consent is provided.

WorkSafe regularly investigates claims that safety rules at work are being followed and will take action if they find otherwise.

WorkSafe investigates for WorkSafe’s purposes and not on behalf of a person who has lodged a complaint. A WorkSafe inspector will only contact you to clarify the details of your concern.

If you would like more information and/or an outcome on an investigation, you can contact the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (department) and quote your reference number. An inspector will contact you with basic information about the investigation, such as its completion status, any issued notices, and the general nature of those notices.

Further information on the results of an investigation may be able to be obtained by lodging a freedom of information request and paying the appropriate fee.