Incident report templates

Frequently asked questions

What should an incident report include?

At minimum: who was involved, what happened, where and when it happened, the immediate cause, any injuries or damage, who was notified and what was done straight away. Add photos and witness details where you have them. The investigation and corrective action are usually recorded separately, which is why this collection includes both the report form and the investigation form.

What is the difference between an incident report and a near miss report?

An incident report records an event that caused injury, illness, damage or environmental harm. A near miss report records an event that could have caused harm but did not. Near misses are worth capturing because they are far more common and they surface the same underlying causes before someone is hurt. Both forms are in this collection.

How long should completed incident reports be kept?

Under Australian WHS regulations most incident records should be retained for at least five years, and some categories need to be kept longer depending on the industry and the nature of the injury. Check your obligations with your safety advisor. Digitising the records makes long-term storage and retrieval straightforward.

When does an incident have to be reported to the regulator?

In Australia, notifiable incidents - deaths, serious injuries or illnesses, and dangerous incidents as defined in the WHS Act - must be reported to the regulator immediately. The site must also be preserved until an inspector arrives or the regulator directs otherwise. These templates help you capture the detail, but they do not replace the notification itself.