There are three processes to keep separate

After a workplace incident, employers commonly mix together three different requirements:

1. OHS Act section 24 reporting to the Department of Employment and Labour for specified incidents;
2. COIDA reporting and claim administration through the Compensation Fund or applicable licensed compensation insurer;
3. internal recording and investigation under General Administrative Regulation 9.

The same event can trigger all three.

Doing one does not automatically discharge the others.

First: protect people, control the hazard and preserve evidence

Emergency care takes priority.

The first response should include, as applicable:

• stop or isolate the hazardous activity;
• summon first aid and emergency medical assistance;
• prevent secondary injury;
• isolate energy or plant where safe to do so;
• establish scene control;
• identify witnesses;
• protect relevant documents, CCTV, permits and equipment;
• begin the required notifications.

Do not interpret “preserve the scene” as meaning that an injured person must be left in danger.

Section 24(2) expressly allows action necessary to prevent a further incident, remove an injured or deceased person or rescue people from danger.

Which incidents fall under OHS Act section 24?

Section 24 applies to specified incidents occurring at work, arising out of or in connection with work activities, or connected with the use of plant or machinery.

It includes an incident where a person:

• dies;
• becomes unconscious;
• loses a limb or part of a limb;
• is injured or becomes ill to such a degree that they are likely to die;
• is likely to suffer a permanent physical defect;
• is likely to be unable for at least 14 days either to work or to continue the activity for which they are normally employed.

It also covers:

• a major incident; or
• circumstances in which health or safety was endangered through specified events, including a dangerous-substance spill, uncontrolled release under pressure, machinery failure producing flying, falling or uncontrolled moving objects, or machinery running out of control.

Not every workplace cut or first-aid case is therefore a section 24 reportable incident.

That does not, however, mean that minor incidents have no recording or investigation consequences.

How and when must a section 24 incident be reported?

General Administrative Regulation 8 provides the reporting mechanism.

For an incident under section 24(1)(a), the employer or user must give notice to the relevant provincial director within seven days in the prescribed form.

A more urgent additional requirement applies where the incident involves:

• death;
• unconsciousness;
• loss of a limb or part of a limb;
• an injury or illness likely to cause death;
• an injury or illness likely to cause a permanent physical defect;

as well as incidents falling within section 24(1)(b) and (c).

Those incidents must also be reported forthwith by telephone, facsimile or similar means of communication.

This means “seven days” should never be treated as permission to wait seven days before acting on a fatal or similarly serious event.

When may the incident scene not be disturbed?

This requirement is narrower than many safety procedures suggest.

Section 24(2) prohibits disturbance of the scene without an inspector’s consent where a person:

• died;
• was injured to such an extent that they are likely to die; or
• lost a limb or part of a limb.

The provision is therefore not phrased as a blanket scene-freeze rule for every section 24 incident.

Even where that strict statutory prohibition is not triggered, preserving evidence is still sound investigation practice.

Do not clean, repair, reset or dispose of critical evidence simply because the incident does not fall within section 24(2).

COIDA reporting is a separate duty

The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993, or COIDA, deals with compensation for occupational injury, disease, disablement and death.

Section 39 requires an employer to report an accident to the Commissioner in the prescribed manner within seven days after receiving notice of the accident or otherwise learning that the employee has met with an accident. That seven-day employer duty remains in the current 2026 version of the Act.

The current official W.Cl.2 Employer’s Report of an Accident is used for an employee accident arising out of and in the course of employment resulting in injury requiring medical treatment or death.

Current claim administration commonly involves:

• W.Cl.2 — Employer’s Report of an Accident;
• W.Cl.4 — First Medical Report in Respect of an Accident;
• W.Cl.5 — Progress or Final Medical Report;
• W.Cl.6 — Resumption Report when the employee resumes work or is discharged.

The Department continues to make these forms available, while Compensation Fund claims are administered electronically through its systems.

Do not delay the employer’s accident report simply because every medical document is not yet available.

A 2026 COIDA change that must not be misunderstood

The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act, 2022 commenced in stages during 2026.

One of the changes substitutes section 44 so that the right to benefits lapses if the accident is not brought to the attention of the Commissioner within three years of the accident.

That three-year prescription period is not the employer’s reporting deadline.

The employer’s section 39 duty remains seven days.

Section 43 also retains its claim-lodgement framework. Employers should therefore never use the longer prescription period as justification for delayed accident reporting.

Internal recording and investigation: General Administrative Regulation 9

The internal duty is wider than section 24 reporting.

General Administrative Regulation 9 requires the employer or user to keep an Annexure 1 record of:

• incidents that must be reported under section 24; and
• other incidents that resulted in the affected person receiving medical treatment other than first aid.

The record must be kept at the workplace for at least three years and be available to an inspector.

Every incident that must be recorded under Regulation 9 must be investigated by the employer, a person appointed by the employer, a health and safety representative, or a member of the health and safety committee, within seven days of the incident, and finalised as soon as reasonably practicable, or within the contracted period in the case of contracted workers.

The findings must be entered into Annexure 1 immediately after the investigation is completed.

The health and safety committee must examine the record at its next meeting, and the employer must ensure that reasonably practicable actions are implemented and followed up to prevent recurrence.

That makes Annexure 1 more than an accident log. It is part of the legal corrective-action system.

A good investigation goes beyond “employee was careless”

The legal form may be concise. The investigation behind it should not be.

A defensible investigation should consider:

• event chronology;
• task being performed;
• authorised method;
• applicable risk assessment;
• training and competence;
• supervision;
• plant and equipment condition;
• guarding and safety devices;
• permits;
• PPE;
• environmental factors;
• relevant procedures;
• previous similar events;
• immediate causes;
• contributing organisational factors;
• failed or missing controls;
• corrective action;
• responsibility and due date.

Where the incident changes the risk profile, the relevant construction or workplace risk assessment should also be reviewed.

The investigation should identify why the existing controls did not prevent the event — not merely find a person to blame.

Common mistakes after an injury on duty

Treating the COIDA claim as the only report

A W.Cl.2 does not automatically satisfy every section 24/GAR reporting duty.

Waiting for the full medical diagnosis

The employer’s reporting duties are time-bound. Medical information can develop after the initial report.

Disturbing a legally protected scene

Cleaning or restarting the area prematurely can interfere with both regulatory investigation and internal evidence.

Failing to investigate medical-treatment cases

Regulation 9’s recording duty includes incidents requiring medical treatment other than first aid, even where the incident does not meet the section 24 reporting threshold.

Closing the investigation when the form is signed

The purpose of the investigation is corrective action. An Annexure 1 that records findings but produces no implemented control change is incomplete as a management process.

Frequently asked questions

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AuthorJean DuvenageManaging Director Reviewed byArthur PaddockSenior Safety Consultant