Why report WHS incidents?
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 130 No 7, 3 October 2025, page no 21.
The QTU understands that, after an incident in your workplace, completing a MyHR WHS incident report can be difficult, thanks to inefficient reporting systems, time limitations, and having to relive the trauma.
These are not the only barriers to reporting hazards. Others can include:
- workplace culture, e.g. what has occurred is seen as part of the job
- the perception that it is not serious enough to report
- the lack of time to report frequently occurring hazards
- the belief among workers that reports will be ignored, or not handled respectfully or with confidentiality
- the feeling among workers that they will be blamed (e.g. their capacity) or reporting will expose them to harm, discrimination or disadvantage
- the lack of knowledge or understanding about how to report a hazard.
Another issue that is prevalent within schools is the lack of appropriate training and time available to the people who are meant to investigate. We know that schools do not have the necessary resourcing to ensure that serious and important matters such as this are given the time they deserve. This is why “Implementing the Comprehensive Review of School Resourcing” (EB11 interest area) is so important. Follow up after a workplace health and safety incident is important and needs to be person-centred, but the necessary staffing in leadership is just not there.
If reporting is so hard, why do you keep telling us to do it?
Reporting creates a formal record, that:
- ensures individual incidents are risk managed and addressed
- helps identify potential hazards and prevent recurrences of incidents and injuries
- identifies safety issues that were previously unnoticed and guides the workplace in developing new safe work procedures and improving existing ones
- helps you understand why incidents occurred, and assists in decision-making
- ensures that rates of incidents are tracked and monitored
- brings workplace health and safety issues in the workplace to the attention of those required to protect employees.
The above also apply to WHS incidents involving occupational violence and aggression (OVA). This information is imperative when the QTU works with members and schools to address OVA.
Note: In Queensland, reporting workplace safety incidents is a legal requirement, and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) must be notified about serious injuries, illnesses, or dangerous incidents.
MyHR and OneSchool
When OVA is reported through the portal, there is a formal record of the incident as occupational violence rather than "behaviour" or "other". OneSchool is a place for student/parent information and contact, MyHR is the place for all employee information. We have in the past and will continue to ask the department to get the two systems to talk to each other.
When it is reported via the workplace health and safety portal, there is a central record and a trigger (a review, and investigation if necessary).
Schools must respond to occupational violence on two levels:
- responding to an incident
- responding to a risk.
If the school does not have the resources to eliminate or mitigate the risk as much as reasonably practicable, then contact the QTU so that we can assist in resolving the issue.
Timelines for entering the WHS incident
The Department of Education’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Incident Management Procedure states that the principal is to “ensure incident and near miss details are recorded in MyHR WHS no later than the next business day after an incident.” However, this is not always practicable, because the nature and extent of the injury, for example, or teachers have to continue teaching and are not provided with time to record the incident, as schools are not allocated the necessary resources.
When this issue was raised with the department, it indicated that it understood that entering the incident within the timeframe could be challenging in some circumstances, and that, while there are no “repercussions,” a delay entering an incident could potentially mean:
- the employee is less likely to enter it at all
- delays in receiving support, e.g. rehabilitation and return to work coordinators
- delays in reviewing the incident and remedying any issues.
It is important to note that if incident or near miss details are recorded in MyHR WHS later than the next business day after an incident, it does not mean that the incident does not get responded to. The Health Safety and Wellbeing Incident Management Flow Chart should still be followed, as outlined in the Department of Education’s Health Safety and Wellbeing Incident Management Guideline.
If you have not reported at the time of the event but you later realise that reporting should occur, you should still make a report through the MyHR WHS portal, e.g. you may feel fine after a serious incident but some weeks later, may develop a psychological injury. If you have not reported at time of the event but later realise that reporting should occur, you should still make a report through the MyHR WHS portal.