Risk Assessment and Incident Reporting Policy

Purpose: Reporting of all incidents that could result in harm to any member of the Orange Sky family or environment, or damage to our assets, and conducting appropriate investigations to understand causes and to introduce control mechanisms to prevent recurrence is a critical management activity.

Scope: This policy applies to all employees, service managers and volunteers of Orange Sky. This policy has application at all Orange Sky services and at any other place where Orange Sky activities are performed.

Introduction

The safety and health of every member of the Orange Sky family and the environment around us is of paramount importance. This Policy outlines Orange Sky’s protocol for identifying risks at any service location and the appropriate measures of reporting an incident.

Risk Assessment

Orange Sky has a process of risk assessing all of its’ service locations. This is conducted by an authorised Orange Sky representative as follows:

• Prior to the commencement of any new service location or if it has not been done before
• After every twelve (12) months of operation at existing service locations
• Following any incident categorised as red (see 9.4 Incident Management)
• When a change to the workplace may introduce a high risk or where volunteers believe that the site has become unsafe.

In order for a service to be approved for operation it must be deemed low risk. If any aspect of the service is deemed medium – high risk, actions must be taken to reduce the risk to low. Under no circumstance will Orange Sky operate if any aspect of the service is considered extreme risk.

The risk profile of a location may change in the event of an incident or physical changes to the location. It is very important for the risk profile to be constantly updated to ensure the continued safety of our volunteers.

Insurance

Orange Sky has public liability and personal accident cover for volunteers over 18 years around Australia. Any medical intervention or support needed to ensure the wellbeing of a volunteer or individual injured at an Orange Sky location is recoverable. Please ensure appropriate and detailed incident report is completed and submitted in the event of such an incident.

The Orange Sky car insurance policy is also comprehensive. No volunteer would be expected to pay for any repairs or damage, including any excess which may be payable. Please report any vehicle incident regardless how minor following the incident reporting process.

Incident Reporting

All incidents, no matter how trivial, must be reported (no exceptions) by call Service Support and submitting an Incident Report Form.

Incident Guidelines

The Orange Sky insurance policy is comprehensive. No volunteer would be expected to pay for any repairs or damage, including any excess which may be payable. Please report any vehicle incident regardless how minor.

1. If you have to think about whether or not to report it – report it!
2. If you don’t know which category, select the higher severity of the two.
3. Just because you feel the incident didn’t impact you, it may have impacted someone else or have the potential to impact someone in the future.

Incident Management

Service Coordinators/Leaders will be notified of the incident via text and e-mail. To ensure volunteer wellbeing and satisfaction, appropriate follow-up and closure procedures must be adhered to.

Incidents are categorised in terms of severity (red, amber or green). Depending on the severity of the incident, the actions will be taken before closing the incident completely. Please see the following tables for details.

Traffic Light Rating System

Incident Investigation

The principal aim of any incident investigation is to establish the cause/s of the incident and to develop control measures to prevent a recurrence. For all incidents classified as “red”, an investigation will be conducted by Orange Sky HQ in order to reduce the risk of recurrence.

All investigations must identify the basic or prime cause and contributing factors, together with appropriate recommendations before it is finalised. The corrective actions shall be followed up until the actions have been signed off as completed.

Red incidents leading to fatality, injury or illness

Incidents that arise out of the course of providing an Orange Sky service that result in fatality/s, serious injury or serious illness or involves a dangerous act must be reported to the police in the state of the incident. An investigation must then ensue.

Who is responsible for notifying the police?

Any volunteer with access to a mobile phone can make the notification immediately after becoming aware that a notifiable incident has occurred.

Accountabilities