Service providers registered with the Social Services Regulator are responsible for reporting notifiable incidents that occur during the delivery of a registered social service.
This content was updated on 19 September 2024.
The requirement to report starts once a provider is registered. This means some providers will not be required to report until later in 2024 or into 2025.
This information does not cover Worker Carer Exclusion Scheme (WCES) notifications. More information on WCES notifications visit the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme page.
You can find a downloadable Word document version of the below information here:
What is a notifiable incident?
There are two types of notifiable incident:
- Serious risk – a serious incident that is reasonably likely to cause serious harm to a service user
- Serious harm - a serious incident that has resulted in serious harm or serious injury to a service user
What incidents must be reported?
All notifiable incidents must be reported to the Social Services Regulator. The definitions of notifiable incidents are listed below.
These requirements come from section 48 of the Social Services Regulation Act 2021 (the Act).
Your reporting is important to help safeguard social service users.
Reporting notifiable incidents informs the Regulator of serious harm and risks of harm to service users during social service delivery, and actions taken by service providers to address the immediate health and safety of their service users.
Responding to notifiable incidents helps the Regulator achieve its purpose of ensuring the safety of service users.
The Regulator makes decisions using an integrated, intelligence-led approach. We identify sector trends and needs by collecting and analysing information, including through notifiable incident reporting.
Reporting serious risk and serious harm
All serious risk and serious harm notifiable incidents must be reported to the Regulator within three business days. See below for descriptions and requirements.
Notifiable incidents
Extra reporting step for critical notifiable incidents
Critical notifiable incidents are a small group of notifiable incidents that require an additional and more immediate reporting step due to the critical nature of the harm or risk of harm.
This extra reporting step means providers alert the Regulator that a critical notifiable incident has occurred by completing a critical notifiable incident short form (referred to as ‘Short form’ in Table 2 below) by close of business the next business day.
If the incident occurs on a Friday or on the weekend, that means reporting by close of business the following Monday.
The definitions of critical notifiable incidents are listed below.
As critical notifiable incidents are also notifiable incidents providers must still complete a full incident report within three business days.
This means that service providers have a two-step reporting requirement for critical notifiable incidents.
Further reporting requirements for supported residential services
Supported residential services (SRS) have further reporting requirements for notifiable incidents. These requirements only apply to providers of supported residential services.
The following notifiable incidents must be reported to a resident’s guardian or person nominated:
- deterioration in health
- injury
- medication error
- death
- behaviour that may pose a serious risk to safety
- relocation of resident
- termination of residential and services agreement.
These incidents must be reported to the resident’s guardian (or person nominated) within three business days.
- These reporting requirements apply in addition to the requirements for reporting serious risk, serious harm and critical notifiable incidents.
- Supported residential services providers may also need to provide further evidence to the Regulator about responding to medication errors and changes in health and support needs.
Responding to medication errors
For medication errors, providers of supported residential services must:
- seek medical advice (for example, the treating doctor, local chemist or Nurse-On-Call service) about the potential risks and recommended follow up action
- immediately make records after any medication errors, including:
- the date and time
- what occurred
- what was administered
- the name and signature of the staff member who administered or supervised the administration of the medication.
Change in health and personal support needs
If a resident’s health and personal support needs change:
- the service provider must ensure that the resident’s ongoing support plan is reviewed and varied as necessary to meet the changed needs of the resident
- ongoing support plans must set out the ongoing health and personal support requirements of the resident and agreements of how a service provider may assist with the resident ongoing health and support needs.
How to report
Reporting notifiable incidents
All notifiable incidents need to be reported to the Regulator in three business days.
Service providers do this by completing a full incident report. There are different ways to complete the incident report.
There is no exception to the requirement to report notifiable incidents to the Regulator in three business days.
Reporting using CIMS
If you use CIMS, you can complete the full incident report using CIMS.
Step 1 Ensure the immediate safety and wellbeing of service users directly and indirectly impacted.
Step 2 Within 3 business days report using CIMS, via: https://providers.dffh.vic.gov.au/cims.
The CIMS guide has further information about reporting CIMS guidance and resources - DFFH Service Providers.
For all non-CIMS users
Some service providers do not use CIMS. This means you can complete the full incident report using a form on our website.
Step 1 Ensure the immediate safety and wellbeing of service users directly and indirectly impacted.
Step 2 Within 3 business days report using the Social Services Regulator incident report form.
Providers of supported residential services should also use this form to make a full incident report.
Client Incident Management System (CIMS) is an e-system used by the Department of Families Fairness and Housing (DFFH) for incident reporting for providers funded by DFFH. Relevant reports made in CIMS will be sent to DFFH and the Social Services Regulator, meaning service providers report once.
Non-CIMS users include: supported residential services, providers funded by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and providers funded by WorkSafe.
Reporting a critical notifiable incident
Determine if the incident meets the definition of a critical notifiable incident.
Step 1 Ensure the immediate safety and wellbeing of service users directly and indirectly impacted.
Step 2 By close of business the next business day report using the Social Services Regulator critical notifiable incident short form.
This short form asks you to provide a brief description of the incident and actions taken.
If the incident occurred on a Friday or the weekend you must submit the form by close of business the next business day.
Step 3 Within three business days complete and submit a full incident report.
- CIMS users submit the full incident report via CIMS https://providers.dffh.vic.gov.au/cims .
- Non-CIMS users submit the full incident report using the Social Services Regulator incident report form.
Health services providers complete the non-CIMS users’ full incident report form. It is not possible to report notifiable incidents through VHIMS.
What happens after I report a notifiable incident?
Response to a full incident report
Shortly after submitting a full incident report, you will receive a confirmation email, which will include a reference number. You may need to check your junk email (or trash) folder.
After receiving the full incident report on a notifiable incident, the Regulator will:
• review the information
• confirm the report is in scope
• assess the risk of the incident and determine a response.
The Regulator takes all reports seriously and is committed to preventing and responding to significant harm or risk of harm to service users.
The Regulator may:
• ask you for further information
• monitor the response to the notifiable incident
• investigate the notifiable incident
• take action for non-compliance against the Social Services Standards (Standards), or breaches of the Act or the Social Services Regulations 2023 (the Regulations)
• close the report with no further action.
The Regulator records all notifiable incidents for intelligence purposes and identifying trends.
Response to critical notifiable incidents
In most cases, if the critical notifiable incident short form is completed correctly, the Regulator will wait to review the full incident report before contacting the service provider. The information provided in the short form helps to inform the Regulator’s decision.
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Terms and definitions - reporting a notifiable incident
Key terms and definitions relating to reporting a notifiable incident.
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