PSPG | Work Health and Safety

The Australian Government Department of Defence

AC563 Defence WHS Incident Capture - Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is an AC563?
It is a form used to record injuries, accidents and fatalities. This information is collected in accordance with legislative requirements to notify Comcare and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency of certain WHS incidents and to maintain a record of WHS incidents in Defence. It may be used to trigger an investigation by the relevant Defence group or service or used to provide Work Health Safety (WHS) Branch with information for Defence Reporting. This form is not a claim for compensation. However, AC563 data is given to the Department of Veterans Affairs to support compensation or rehabilitation claims.

2. What is the full name of the AC563?
Form AC563, Defence WHS Incident Report

3. What is the web address of WHS?
Intranet : http://whs.eas.defence.mil.au/

4. Do I submit an AC563 for incidents that occurred at home?
Generally no, unless the injury or incident can be linked to a previous work related injury or employer undertaking.

5. Do I submit an AC563 for incidents that occurred on the way to or from home?
Due to recent changes in the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 APS employees are no longer covered for journeys to and from work. This exclusion does not apply to members of the military who are still covered under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. As such, APS employees do not complete an AC563 and military members should.

6. Do I submit an AC563 for incidents that occurred after normal working hours?
Only if the injury or incident can be linked to a previous work related injury or if it is a result of an employer undertaking.

7. How soon am I required to notify after an incident, injury or fatality occurs?
Once the commander or manager becomes aware of an incident or injury the following timeframes apply:

WHS incident reporting timeframes
		All incidents report to WHS Branch (Notification timeframes)		Specific Incidents report to COMCARE	Radiation incidents report to ARPANSA
		Initial Report	Follow on Actions	Notification to Comcare is required immediately after becoming aware that a notifiable incident arising from the business or undertaking has occurred. Notification in the first instance should be by phone – 1300 366 979. Seek advice from Comcare regarding site preservation and submission of written notification of the incident.	Reporting to ARPANSA is to be, in the first instance, within 24 hours of the incident
Fatality	Notifiable Death – The work-related death of any person including a contractor, member of the public or employee.	Within 24 hours	Within 28 days		The reporting to ARPANSA of radiation incidents it to be completed if the source of the radiation, which caused or had potential to cause an exposure, is currently licensed to Defence by ARPANSA under the ARPANS Act. Types of equipment that are Licensed Apparatus includes (but are not limited to) Class 3B and 4 Lasers, radioactive material and X-ray equipment. Further details are available on the JLC DRSA website.
Serious Injury or Illness	An injury to or disease in a person caused in the course of work which the person needed emergency treatment by a registered medical practitioner, treatment in a hospital as a casualty, with or without being admitted to hospital	Within 24 hours	Within 28 days
Dangerous Incident	An incident where no person is injured, but could have been injured, resulting in Serious Personal Injury, Incapacity, or Death. Commonly called a ‘near miss’.	Within 24 hours	Within 28 days
Exposure	Potential exposure to substance/ material including workplace hazards that did not result in a fatality, serious illness, minor injury, or dangerous incident.	Within 24 hours	Within 28 days
Minor Injury	Any minor injury that did not result in a Fatality, SPI, or Dangerous Incident.	Within 28 days	Within 28 days

8. What is a WHS Incident, the Types and Definitions?

A WHS incident is any accident or event that is caused in the course of Defence work, which involves:

work illnesses;
uncontrolled fire and explosions;
disabling injuries;
serious equipment plant or property damage;
dangerous occurrences which could have, but did not injure any person;
exposures to hazardous substances or circumstances;
minor injuries;
any other serious incident that could put employees or plant at risk.

This includes WHS incidents for all Defence employees, Cadets, and third parties (which includes contractors and the general public). Defence contractors have dual reporting requirements both to the Commonwealth and to the State WHS Authority.

Incident type	Definition
Fatality	Death
Serious Injury or Illness	Section 36 of the WHS Act sets out that a serious injury or illness of a person is an injury or illness requiring the person to have: immediate treatment as an in-patient in a hospital immediate treatment for the amputation of any part of his or her body a serious head injury a serious eye injury a serious burn; the separation of his or her skin from an underlying tissue (such as de-gloving or scalping) a spinal injury the loss of a bodily function serious lacerations medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance the following prescribed illnesses: any medically diagnosed infectious disease that is reliably attributable to carrying out work, including work with micro-organisms, that involves providing care or treatment to a person, that involves contact with human blood or body substances, or that involves handling or contact with animals, animal hides, skins, wool or hair, animal carcasses or animal waste products medically diagnosed Q fever, anthrax, leptospirosis, brucellosis, Hendra virus, avian influenza or psittacosis. In the case of a serious injury or illness it does not matter whether a person actually received treatment, just that the injury or illness could reasonably be considered to warrant such treatment. The regulations may include or exclude other injuries or illnesses as ‘serious injuries or illnesses’ for the purposes of section 36 of the WHS Act, however the Regulations are currently silent on this.
Dangerous Incident	Section 37 of the WHS Act sets out that a dangerous incident is an incident in relation to a workplace that exposes a worker or any other person to a serious risk to a person’s health or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to: an uncontrolled escape, spillage or leakage of a substance an uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fire an uncontrolled escape of gas or steam an uncontrolled escape of a pressurised substance electric shock the fall or release from a height of any plant, substance or thing—this includes falls into open trenches or pits the collapse, overturning, failure or malfunction of, or damage to, any plant that is required to be authorised for use in accordance with the regulations the collapse or partial collapse of a structure the collapse or failure of an excavation or of any shoring supporting an excavation the inrush of water, mud or gas in workings, in an underground excavation or tunnel the interruption of the main system of ventilation in an underground excavation or tunnel The Regulations may include or exclude other events as being ‘dangerous incidents’ for the purposes of section 37 of the WHS Act; however the Regulations are currently silent on this.
Exposure	An event where an employee comes into contact with a substance or circumstance which does not lead to an immediate injury or illness.
Minor injury	An employee is injured and is: Unable to work for between 1 and 4 days; or Sees a doctor, nurse, or first aid attendant, but is not given emergency medical treatment; or Attends a medical centre, but is not given emergency medical treatment

9. The incident happened a long time ago, over 28 days, can I still submit an AC563?
Yes, there is no Statute of Limitation for the time frame to report a WHS Incident. If you are working in a different location put down your Supervisor / Commanding Officer at the time of the incident. Add any comments with regard to the delay of reporting the WHS Incident.

10. Who is responsible to fill out the AC563?
The employer is required to complete and submit an AC563 in the event of any reportable incident.

11. Can the injured person fill out the AC563?
Yes but the AC563 is required to be signed off by an appropriate manager or commander prior to submission to WHS and if required Comcare or ARPANSA.

12. Does the activity supervisor or my normal supervisor fill out the AC563?
The activity supervisor is the preferred person to complete the form however if they are not available your current workplace supervisor can complete and submit the form.

13. Who is the WHS?
The WHS is the organisation within Defence responsible for providing a wide range of policy, programs, information and databases dealing with Defence Work Health and Safety.

14. Who is Comcare?
Comcare is the statutory authority responsible for workplace safety, rehabilitation and compensation in the Commonwealth jurisdiction.

15. Who is ARPANSA?
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority is the statutory authority responsible for Radiation issues within the Commonwealth jurisdiction.

16. How do I submit an AC563 after it has been completed?
You can either mail or fax the completed form to WHS/Comcare/ARPANSA or email.

WHS Contact Details	COMCARE Contact Details	ARPANSA Contact details
Incident Capture ISS Helpdesk - 1800 220 820 ac563@defence.gov.au Incident Reporting WHSCAR@defence.gov.au	Business Hours Hotline 1300 366 979	24 Hour Phone Emergency Officer 03 9432 5384 BH phone Director, Regulatory Branch 02 9541 8329
	www.comcare.gov.au	www.arpansa.gov.au
Fax: 1800 563 563	Fax: 1300 305 916	Fax: (All states) 02 9541 8348
Postal address: WHS ICR 33-35 Brindabella Circuit Department of Defence PO Box 7927 CANBERRA BC ACT 2610	Comcare has a National (local call costs) contact telephone number for all enquires and notification of fatalities and fax number for reporting of incidents.

17. If 10, 20, 50, 200 people in my unit have been exposed/involved do they all have to fill out separate AC563?

If the exposure or injury is identical, a single AC563 with a nominal role showing full names, rank, service, AGS or PMKEYS number and date of birth may be submitted.
If the exposure is of the same type but the period of exposure has differed then submit a nominal role as above with the dates of exposure for each individual.

18. Will you confirm the receipt of my AC563?
No, WHS ICR does not have the ability to do this at this stage.

19. Can I find out whether an AC563 has been submitted or get a copy of an AC563 which has been submitted on my behalf?
Yes, access to a copy of your AC563 can be sought by making a request via e-mail. A copy of the AC563 can be e-mailed, posted or faxed to you usually within 5 working days.

1. Requesting a Copy of a Defence WHS Incident and Fatality Report

Send an e-mail to ac563@defence.gov.au. Include the following details:

2. Your Personal & Incident Details

Surname, Given Name, Date of Birth, PMKeys Number, Service Number, Date of Incident, Brief description of illness or injury and Incident location.

3. Your Contact Details

E-mail address, Fax Number, Postal Details if required

20. Can I use the AC563 to claim compensation?
No, the AC563 is only used to report the injury or incident and is not a claim for compensation.

21. As an APS employee where do I find information in relation to workers' compensation in the event of a work related injury or illness?

Information on workers' compensation entitlements under the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA) can be sourced from the Comcare website: http://www.comcare.gov.au/claims/injured_employees.

22. As a military member, where do I find information on my rehabilitation and compensation entitlements?

Information in relation to compensation entitlements for current or former members of the ADF, visit the Department of Veterans' Affairs website: http://www.dva.gov.au/Pages/home.aspx.

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