Workplace Incident Investigation Builder
Investigate a workplace incident properly — sequence of events, contributing factors, root cause and corrective actions you can act on.
Assemble a structured incident investigation report: sequence of events, immediate causes, contributing factors by category, the root cause via the 5 whys, and corrective actions mapped to the hierarchy of controls with owners and due dates — then print it or save it as a PDF. This is the 'now what' companion to the Notifiable Incident Checker. General good-practice methodology, not legal advice.
Investigate to prevent recurrence, not to assign blame
A good investigation finds the system causes that let the incident happen, then fixes them. If this was a notifiable incident you must preserve the site and notify your regulator first — check with the Notifiable Incident Checker. For serious matters, get advice before finalising what you document.
Incident details
Sequence of events
Set out what happened step by step, in order — one event per line. Stick to facts (what, not why) and use the people's accounts and any evidence.
Immediate causes
The conditions or actions immediately before the incident — the unsafe conditions and acts. One per line.
Contributing factors
Behind the immediate causes are the conditions that allowed them. Work through each category and list the factors that contributed — one per line. Most incidents have factors in several categories.
Root cause — the 5 whys
Keep asking "why did that happen?" for each cause until you reach something you can fix in a system, procedure or control — not a single person's error. List each why on its own line.
Corrective actions
For each root cause and contributing factor, decide what you will change. Pick the highest hierarchy-of-controls level you reasonably can, and give every action an owner and a due date.
Investigator and review
Opens your browser's print dialog. Choose "Save as PDF" to keep a copy or share it with your team, HSR or regulator.
Incident Investigation Report
Prepared with FairWorkMate.com.au — general information, not legal advice.
Purpose
The purpose of this investigation is to prevent recurrence — not to assign blame. Look past who made an error to why the work system allowed it to happen.
1. Incident summary
- Investigation reference
- —
- What happened
- —
- Date and time
- —
- Location
- —
- People involved
- —
- Injuries or damage
- —
- Notifiable incident?
- No / not yet determined
2. Sequence of events
Not yet recorded.
3. Immediate causes
Not yet recorded.
4. Contributing factors
Not yet recorded.
5. Root cause analysis (5 whys)
Not yet recorded.
Root cause(s)
Not yet recorded.
6. Corrective actions
Not yet recorded.
7. Investigator and review
- Investigator
- —
- Corrective-action review date
- —
Preserve the site and get advice for serious matters
If this is a notifiable incident (death, serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident), you must not disturb the incident site until an inspector arrives or the regulator allows it, except to help an injured person, make the site safe or preserve evidence. Notify your WHS regulator as required, and for serious matters consider getting legal advice before documenting findings — investigation records can be used in proceedings. Check whether you need to notify with the Notifiable Incident Checker.
Notes
- An investigation looks for system causes, not someone to blame. The aim is to stop the same thing happening again.
- Use the 5 whys to keep asking why each cause occurred until you reach a root cause you can fix — usually a gap in a system, procedure or control, not a single person's error.
- Map every corrective action to the hierarchy of controls. Higher-order controls (eliminate, substitute, isolate, engineering) are more reliable than relying on administrative controls or PPE alone.
- Give every corrective action a responsible person and a due date, then review on the review date that each is done and effective.
- This report is a general good-practice template, not legal advice. For serious incidents, get advice before finalising what you document.
- Methodology verified as at 2026-06-21: Safe Work Australia incident-investigation guidance; ICAM contributing-factor categories; model WHS Act s27 (officer due diligence) and Part 3 (notifiable incidents).
Methodology verified as at 2026-06-21. Sources: Safe Work Australia incident-investigation guidance; ICAM contributing-factor categories; model WHS Act s27 (officer due diligence) and Part 3 (notifiable incidents).
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