What must be notified

[subheading]

What must be notified under the Maritime Transport Act

Under the Maritime Transport Act 1994 (MTA), if you are the master of a ship, you must notify accidents. An accident is an event that involves a ship where:

• a person is seriously harmed as a result of:
• being on a ship
• coming into direct contact with a ship
• being exposed to the wash (wake) of a ship
• being exposed to an interaction between ships
• a ship sustains damage or structural failure that adversely affects its operation or poses a threat to the safety of people on board
• a ship’s machinery or equipment fails in a way that affects the seaworthiness of the ship
• a ship’s cargo is lost, damaged, moves, or changes in a way that poses a risk to the ship or other ships
• there is loss or escape of a substance or thing that:
• has, or could, result in serious harm to a person, or
• has resulted in damage to the ship or other ships, or
• could pose a risk to the ship or other ships, or
• could cause a person to be harmed
• a person is, or has been, lost at sea or is missing
• a ship is foundering, capsizing, missing, stranding, or being abandoned, or any of these has already occurred
• a ship has been in a collision or has had a major fire on board.

You must also notify incidents. An incident is any other event, outside an accident, that relates to the operation of a ship and that does, or could, affect the safety of its operation.

Mishaps are also notifiable. A mishap is an event that has caused, or could have caused, any person to be harmed.

What must be notified under HSWA

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must notify any of the following events that arise from work:

• the death of a person
• a notifiable injury or illness
• a notifiable accident.

The Act includes a detailed definition of a notifiable injury or illness and this is provided in the Q&A section. At a high level, a notifiable injury or illness is one that requires a person to have immediate treatment (other than first aid) and includes:

• amputation
• serious head or eye injuries
• serious burns
• serious lacerations
• loss of a bodily function.

It also includes an injury or illness that requires:

• immediate hospitalisation, or
• medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance.

Serious infections, where carrying out work is a significant contributing factor, are also notifiable.

Notifiable incidents must also be notified. A notifiable incident under HSWA is an unplanned or uncontrolled incident related to a workplace that exposes a worker, or any other person, to a serious risk to that person’s health or safety.

That serious risk must arise from an immediate or imminent exposure to a range of dangerous activities. These activities are listed in the Q&A section.

Where a notification might come under both the Maritime Transport Act and HSWA, the key thing is that you make a notification. Maritime NZ will accept it as covering both requirements.

If you are unsure, it is always better to notify.

Where we see a pattern of late notification, or a lack of notification where there is a legal obligation to notify, we will consider corrective or enforcement action.

Other notifications

Other notification types are:

• protected disclosures (whistleblowing)
• notifiable particular hazardous work
• general worker concerns
• requests to resolve cessation of work issues
• requests to resolve a workplace health and safety issue
• requests for an internal review of a reviewable decision
• requests to review a provisional improvement notice (PIN)
• other notifications that are not covered by any categories listed.

For more information, see other notifications.