Here you will find some information about FSC Online, helpful links to guidance material, OFSC Reporting definitions and guidance and the Audit Criteria Glossary of Terms.

Guidance Material 

• Audit Criteria Evidence Guide: https://www.fsc.gov.au/auditing

• Information for Applicants:https://www.fsc.gov.au/useful-documents-downloads?s=How to Get Accredited and Stay Accredited

• OFSC Resources:https://www.fsc.gov.au/useful-documents-downloads

• FSC Online WHS Report Guide:https://www.fsc.gov.au/accredited-company-reporting 

Additional Information 

• Fact sheets:https://www.fsc.gov.au/useful-documents-downloads?s=Fact%20Sheet#

• Appeals and Complaints:https://www.fsc.gov.au/appeals-and-complaints

OFSC Reporting definitions and Guidance 

Incident report types

Dangerous occurrence - An incident where no person is injured, but could have been injured, resulting in Serious Personal Injury (which requires a week or more away from work), Incapacity or Death. Also commonly called a “near miss”. Only dangerous occurrences that are required to be reported under the WHS legislation covering notifiable incidents in the jurisdiction the project is being undertaken are required to be reported to the OFSC.

MTI (Medically treated injury) - A work-related occurrence that results in treatment by, or under the order of, a qualified medical practitioner (see below), or any injury that could be considered as being one that would normally be treated by a medical practitioner but does not result in the loss of a full day/shift. This may include Alternate Work Injuries (AWIs) if that is your company’s internal reporting practice. Do not report first aid treated injuries in this category.

An injury includes physical injuries as well as instances such as where a worker experiences psychological stress due to witnessing a traumatic event or being a victim of bullying, or if they required medical attention due to migraines caused by exposure to chemicals or gas. A qualified medical practitioner is defined as a person with a medical degree. The following would normally be considered medical treatment:

• Treatment of partial or full thickness burns
• Insertion of sutures
• Removal of foreign bodies embedded in eye
• Removal of foreign bodies from a wound if the procedure is complicated by the depth of embedment, size or location
• Surgical debridement
• Admission to a hospital or equivalent for treatment or observation
• Application of antiseptics during second or subsequent visits to medical personnel
• Any work injury that results in a loss of consciousness
• Treatment of infection
• Use of prescription medications (except a single dose administered on the first visit for minor injury or discomfort)
• Treatment (diagnosis and evaluation) by a psychiatrist for mental illness or stress as a result of a workplace occurrence.



​The following on their own would not normally be considered medical treatment:

• Administration of tetanus shots or boosters
• Physiotherapy
• Diagnostic procedures such as X-rays or laboratory analysis, unless they lead to further treatment
• Referral to/treatment by a psychiatrist where the diagnosis is not a result of a workplace occurrence.

LTI (Lost time injury) - A work-related occurrence that results in a permanent disability or injury resulting in time lost from work of one day/shift or more. Permanent disability is as defined in the legislation of the jurisdiction in which the project is being undertaken.

An injury includes physical injuries (i.e. cuts, burns, fractures etc) as well as instances such as where a worker experiences psychological stress due to witnessing a traumatic event or being a victim of bullying (and may require time off work as a result), or if they required medical attention due to migraines caused by exposure to chemicals or gas.

The OFSC strongly encourages accredited contractors to report Alternate Work Injuries (AWIs), however the reporting of these injuries is optional. The definition of an AWI for OFSC purposes includes incidents where the injured worker has a gradual return to their normal duties (i.e. works less than their normal hours), or returns to work to perform a different role. For example, a worker returns to work to perform administration duties where the usual duties involve intensive labour or operation of mobile plant. This may also include workers sent to unscheduled training due to their incapacity to perform normal duties.

Fatality - A work-related occurrence that results directly or indirectly in the death of a person (including deaths due to natural causes which occur on the project site).

Construction types

When completing a report, the asks for the construction type, select the type of construction for the project. Only one type should be selected, so where a project involves more than one type, please select the type for the largest portion of the project that is managed by the accredited company as the head contractor.

• Civil or engineering construction – roads and bridges, railways, ports, water storage and supply, sewerage, telecommunications, pipelines, drainage, earthworks, heavy industry-related (refineries, pumping stations, mines, chemical plants, furnaces, steel mills, etc.).
• Commercial building – offices, shops, hotels, other business premises, industrial, social and institutional, plus medium and high density apartments (3 or more storeys).
• Residential building – detached or semi-detached houses and residential complexes (flats, home units, town houses, villas, terrace houses, semi-detached, duplexes, apartments, aged care facilities etc.) but excluding medium and high density apartments (3 or more storeys). A single dwelling house that comprises one stand-alone (detached) residential dwelling (including alteration, extension or refurbishment) for a single household is not covered by the definition of building work. Therefore, a project solely comprising any number of single dwelling houses (i.e.. has no detached or semi-detached dwellings in it) would not be subject to the requirements of the Scheme.

Breakdown agency

The break down agency of incident is intended to identify the object, substance or circumstance that was principally involved in, or more closely associated with, the point at which things started to go wrong and which ultimately led to the most serious injury or disease.

1. Machinery and fixed plant includes: Cutting, slicing, sawing machinery, crushing, pressing, rolling machinery, heating, cooking, baking equipment, cooling, refrigeration plant and equipment, conveyors and lifting plant, electrical installation, radiation-based equipment, filling and bottling/packaging plant, other plant and machinery.
2. Mobile plant and transport includes: Self-propelled plant, semi-portable plant, other mobile plant, road transport, rail transport, air transport, water transport, other transport.
3. Powered equipment, tools and appliances includes: Workshop and worksite tools and equipment, kitchen and domestic equipment, office and electronic equipment, garden and outdoor powered equipment, Pressure-based equipment not covered elsewhere, other powered equipment, tools and appliances.
4. Non-powered hand tools, appliances and equipment includes: Hand tools, non-powered, edged, other hand tools, fastening, packing and packaging equipment, furniture and fittings, other utensils, ladders, mobile ramps and stairways, and scaffolding, other non-powered equipment.
5. Chemicals and chemical products includes: Nominated chemicals, other basic chemicals, chemical products.
6. Material and substances includes: Non-metallic minerals and substances, other materials, objects or substances.
7. Environmental agencies includes: Outdoor, indoor and underground environments.
8. Animal, human and biological agencies includes: Live four-legged animals, other live animals, non-living animals, human agencies, biological agencies.
9. Other and unspecified agencies includes: Non-physical and other and unspecified agencies

These categories are based on the break down agency of incident classifications listed in the Type of Occurrence Classification System, Version 3.1 (TOOCS3.1). See this document at www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au for more detailed information)

​Nature of injury

When completing an incident report select one option only from the list which best identifies the most serious injury (or disease) that was experienced by the injured worker as a result of the incident. Below are the kinds of injuries captured by each of the nature of injury categories:

1. Intracranial injuries: Brain injury, other intracranial injury, not elsewhere classified or unspecified.
2. Fractures: Fractured skull and facial bones, fracture of vertebral column without mention of spinal cord lesion, other fractures, not elsewhere classified or unspecified.
3. Wounds, lacerations, amputations and internal organ damage: Internal injury of chest, abdomen and pelvis, traumatic amputation, injury to major blood vessel, laceration or open wound not involving traumatic amputation, medical sharp/needle-stick puncture, superficial injury, contusion, bruising and superficial crushing.
4. Burns: Electrical burn, chemical burn, cold burn, hot burn, friction burn, combination burn or burn not elsewhere classified or unspecified.
5. Injury to nerves and spinal cord: Quadriplegia involving spinal cord injury, paraplegia involving spinal cord injury, injuries to nerves and spinal cord, not elsewhere classified or unspecified.
6. Traumatic joint / ligament and muscle / tendon injury: Trauma to joints and ligaments, trauma to muscles and tendons, residual soft tissue disorders due to trauma or unknown mechanisms.
7. Other injuries: Foreign body on external eye, in ear or nose or in respiratory, digestive or reproductive tract, poisoning and toxic effects of substances, audio shock, audio shriek, electrocution, shock from electric current, traumatic deafness from air pressure or explosion, heat stress/heat stroke, hypothermia and effects of reduced temperature, effects of weather, exposure, air pressure and other external causes, not elsewhere classified, multiple injuries, other specified injuries, not elsewhere classified, or unspecified.
8. Diseases and conditions: Musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases, mental diseases, digestive system diseases, skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases, nervous system and sense organ diseases.
9. Respiratory system diseases, circulatory system diseases, infectious and parasitic diseases, neoplasms (Cancer), other diseases, other claims.

​These categories are based on the nature of injury classifications listed in the Type of Occurrence Classification System, Version 3.1 (TOOCS3.1). See this document at www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au for more detailed information.

​Location of injury

When completing an incident report, select one option only from the list which identifies the part of the body affected by the most serious injury. See the Question Mark Help (?) next to this field for further information. Select one option only from the list which identifies the part of the body affected by the most serious injury.

​The parts of the body covered by each of the groups are listed below.

1. Head: Cranium, eye, ear, mouth, nose, face - not elsewhere classified, head - multiple or unspecified locations.
2. Neck: Neck.
3. Trunk: Back - upper or lower, chest (thorax), abdomen and pelvic region, trunk - multiple locations/unspecified locations.
4. Upper limbs: Shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and thumb, upper limb - multiple or unspecified locations.
5. Lower limbs: Hip, upper leg, knee, lower leg, ankle, foot and toes, lower limb - multiple or unspecified locations.
6. Multiple locations: Neck and trunk, head and neck, head and other, trunk and limbs, upper and lower limbs, neck and shoulder, other specified multiple locations, unspecified multiple locations.
7. Systemic location: Circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system, genitourinary system, nervous system, other and multiple systemic conditions, unspecified systemic conditions.
8. Non-physical locations: Psychological system.
9. Unspecified locations: Unspecified locations.

These categories are based on the location of injury classifications listed in the Type of Occurrence Classification System, Version 3.1 (TOOCS3.1). See this document at www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au for more detailed information.

Mechanism of injury

When completing an incident report, the mechanism of injury is the action, exposure or event which was the direct cause of the injury (i.e. ‘how’ the person was hurt). Select one option from the list. The following list of standard categories is to be used when completing this item. Entry is only required at group level, but sub-groups are provided below to assist with selection of the appropriate group.

• Group 0 -FALLS, TRIPS AND SLIPS OF A PERSON
  1. Falls from a height
  2. Falls on the same level
  3. Stepping, kneeling or sitting on objects
• Group 1-HITTING OBJECTS WITH A PART OF THE BODY
  1. Hitting stationary objects
  2. Hitting moving objects
  3. Rubbing and chafing
• Group 2-BEING HIT BY MOVING OBJECTS
  1. Being hit by falling objects
  2. Being bitten by an animal
  3. Being hit by an animal
  4. Being hit by a person accidentally
  5. Being trapped by moving machinery or equipment
  6. Being trapped between stationary and moving objects
  7. Exposure to mechanical vibration
  8. Being hit by moving objects
  9. Being assaulted by a person or persons
• Group 3-SOUND AND PRESSURE
  1. Exposure to single, sudden sound
  2. Long-term exposure to sounds
  3. Explosion
  4. Other variations in pressure
• Group 4-BODY STRESSING
  1. Muscular stress while lifting, carrying, or putting down objects
  2. Muscular stress while handling objects other than lifting, carrying or putting down
  3. Muscular stress with no objects being handled
  4. Repetitive movement, low muscle loading
• Group 5-HEAT, ELECTRICITY AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
  1. Contact with hot objects
  2. Contact with cold objects
  3. Exposure to environmental heat
  4. Exposure to environmental cold
  5. Exposure to non-ionising radiation
  6. Exposure to ionising radiation
  7. Contact with electricity
  8. Drowning/immersion
  9. Exposure to other environmental factors
• Group 6-CHEMICALS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
  1. Single contact with chemical or substance
  2. Long term contact with chemicals or substances
  3. Insect and spider bites and stings
  4. Contact with poisonous parts of plant or marine life
  5. Other and unspecified contact with chemical or substance
• Group 7-BIOLOGICAL FACTORS
  1. Contact with, or exposure to, biological factors of non-human origin
  2. Contact with, or exposure to, biological factors of human origin
  3. Contracts with, or exposure to, biological factors of unknown origin.
• Group 8-MENTAL STRESS
  1. Exposure to a traumatic event
  2. Exposure to workplace or occupational violence
  3. Work pressure
  4. Suicide or attempted suicide
  5. Other mental stress factors
  6. Work related harassment and/or workplace bullying
  7. Other harassment
• Group 9-VECHICLE INCIDENTS AND OTHER
  1. Slide or cave-in
  2. Vehicle incident
  3. Rollover
  4. Other and multiple mechanisms of incident
  5. Unspecified mechanisms of incident

These categories are based on the 10 major mechanism of incident classification groups listed in the Type of Occurrence Classification System, Version 3.1 (TOOCS3.1). See this document at www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au for more detailed information.

Audit Criteria Glossary

Competent

means that a person has been deemed to meet the combination of licences, qualifications, training and instruction as defined by the company or by legal requirements for an activity or works.

Documented process

means that there is a written process (in any format) included in the WHS Management System that clearly describes the requirements for the specific aspect, and may include the purpose, what must be done and by whom, when and how it is to be done, what tools, materials and documents are needed and how the activity is controlled and recorded.

Formally trained

means a person who has undertaken formal training against a specified training course or plan, with outcomes documented as relevant to the activity or works.

Implementation

the completion of the requirements defined in the WHS Management System and associated procedures, including completion of any required tools, forms or documents.

Inducted

company specific instruction provided to a worker related to a task, activity or process, with evidence of worker acknowledgement of instruction provided.

Licenced

means that a person has been deemed to meet the defined regulatory requirements for an activity or works.

Principal Contractor

means a company that has been allocated or contracted with overall management or control of the construction works as per the WHS Regulations.

Project Risk Assessment

means the conduct of hazard identification, risk assessment and control processes (HIRAC) for the overall project in order to ‘manage risks’ by eliminating health and safety risks so far as is reasonably practicable, and if it is not reasonably practicable to do so, to minimise those risks so far as is reasonably practicable.

Qualified

means a person who holds a recognised degree, certificate or professional standing relevant to the activity or works.

Record

means a form of evidence of account or actions completed, documented in writing or other media that can be readily understood.

Senior manager

means a person responsible for controlling or administering a significant part of the company or group of employees above the project level management team.

Trained

Trained worker who has been trained internally, consistent with company defined requirements. Evidence of specific content delivered or communicated is required.

Verification of competency

Verification of competency means a method of documented evaluation of the skill level of a person against defined competency standards in order to evaluate the person's ability to carry out the relevant activity or works.