Reporting HSWA events

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) you must notify us of certain work-related events that occur while an aircraft is 'in operation'.

Definition of 'in operation' and 'work on board'

‘In operation’ means while the aircraft is taxiing, taking off, flying or landing:

1. Work to prepare an aircraft for imminent flight;
2. Work on board an aircraft for the purpose of imminent flight or while in operation; and
3. Aircraft as workplaces while in operation.

Specifically, we take the view that:

In operation: Means from the moment of initial movement of the aircraft until the aircraft fully ceases movement, the intent of the pilot being that the operation has ended. For aircraft using chocks, effectively it is the time when the chocks have been removed until the chocks are replaced, that is, 'chock to chock'.

Work on board: Means work in respect of the aircraft operation.

What is a notifiable event?

Notifiable event fact sheet [PDF 366 KB]

A notifiable event is when any of the following occurs as a result of work:

• a notifiable death
• a notifiable injury
• a notifiable illness
• a notifiable incident

Deaths, injuries or illnesses that are unrelated to work are NOT notifiable events eg:

• diabetic worker slipping into a coma at work
• a worker being killed or injured driving to work, when that driving is not part of their work
• a worker fainting from a non-work related cause.

Reporting a notifiable event

We've developed one page infographics on:

Reporting a notifiable event [PDF 198 KB] - which details the process for reporting.

Notifiable event infographic [PDF 101 KB] - a quick reference guide to what is a notifiable event. 

Note: Health and safety reporting has different requirements to Part 12 reporting, and the requirements of both must be complied with. This may be done in a single report, but it may require two separate reports depending upon the content you provide in each.

Forms

To report a notifiable event you will need to use one of the two forms depending on the notification required:

Notification of a death or notifiable injury or notifiable illness [PDF 354 KB]; or

Notification of notifiable incident [PDF 336 KB]

Open the forms on your computer using Adobe Reader, then either:

1. Type the information into the form and save to your computer; or
2. Print the form off and hand write in details. 

Once completed either scan the handwritten form, or attach the completed PDF version and email it to us.

If emailing this form is not practical, post it to us:

Inwards Information Unit
Civil Aviation Authority
PO Box 3555
Wellington 6140