Notify SafeWork NSW immediately on 13 10 50 if it is serious, notify your workers compensation insurer within 48 hours of becoming aware of the injury, and write it in your register of injuries the same shift.
Skai Solutions answers the phone for restaurants, cafes and takeaways in Australia and New Zealand, which is how this page came about: the last twenty minutes of service is when hospitality injuries cluster and it is also when the phone rings hardest. Here are the published duties and their deadlines, what an injury actually costs a venue, the four points where hospitality injuries happen, and the fixes in order of what they cost.
Three clocks start the moment you know about it, and only one of them is obvious.
| Duty | When | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Notify SafeWork NSW of a serious injury, illness or dangerous incident | Immediately, on 13 10 50, 24 hours a day | You, as the person conducting the business |
| Notify your workers compensation insurer | Within 48 hours of becoming aware of the injury | You, or the worker, or their doctor |
| Insurer starts weekly payments to an entitled worker | Within seven days of being notified | The insurer, subject to a reasonable excuse |
The 48 hour duty and the seven day payment rule are published by SIRA, the NSW state insurance regulator, which cites sections 44 and 266 of the 1998 Act for the notification and sections 267 and 275 for the payments. The immediate notification line and the 13 10 50 number come from SafeWork NSW, which also requires you to keep a register of injuries and to display the "if you get injured at work" poster where staff can see it.
Read the second row again, because it is the one venues miss. The clock starts when YOU become aware, not when a claim form appears. A chef who mentions a burn at the end of service on Friday has told you. The 48 hours runs from that conversation, through a weekend, whether or not anyone filled anything in.
These are the New South Wales rules. Every state and territory runs its own scheme with its own regulator and its own timeframes, and New Zealand runs a no-fault scheme through ACC with a separate duty to notify WorkSafe New Zealand. Check your own jurisdiction rather than taking a page's word for it.
Yes. This is the single most common mistake in hospitality, and it is worth being blunt about because the industry runs on casual labour. Workers compensation covers workers, and a casual is a worker. Not being rostered next week makes no difference. Being on a trial shift makes no difference. Being paid in cash makes no difference to the entitlement, although it will make the claim considerably more unpleasant for you.
Two practical consequences. First, a casual who is injured and cannot work loses income immediately, so the seven day payment rule matters more to them than to a salaried manager. Second, your premium is calculated on total wages, and casual wages count. If you want the mechanics of that, our page on restaurant insurance cost in Australia carries the published NSW industry rates for cafes, restaurants, takeaway and clubs.
Our page on casual against part time hospitality staff covers the rest of what changes between the two, and almost none of it is safety.
Three separate bills, and the premium is the smallest of them in the first month.
The honest version: a single cut or burn that keeps someone off for a fortnight is a four figure problem for a small venue, and most of the four figures are roster costs, not insurance.
Not because kitchens are dangerous in general. Because four specific moments are.
The wet floor between the dish pit and the pass. It is wet for the whole service, everyone crosses it carrying something, and the mop is usually at the other end.
The oil change. Hot oil moved by someone in a hurry at the end of a long shift, usually the youngest person on, usually alone.
The lift that was not a two person lift. Stock deliveries, kegs, flour sacks and full bins, carried by whoever opened the door.
The last twenty minutes. Knife cuts and burns concentrate at the end of service when concentration drops and the phone is ringing. That is not a theory about distraction, it is why the fixes below are about the shape of the shift rather than about signage.
If injuries keep happening at the same point after you have changed the roster around it, the problem is the equipment or the layout, not the staff, and it needs money rather than a memo. Get your insurer's risk adviser in, which most schemes provide at no extra charge, and ask for a written list. A documented request that you then acted on is also the best evidence you will ever have that you took the duty seriously.
If a worker refuses medical treatment, you still notify. The duty is yours, it is not conditional on the worker's cooperation, and the register entry is what protects both of you when the injury turns out to be worse a week later.
The wider staffing picture, if you are here because you are short-handed as well as one person down, is on our pages for staff calling in sick and changing a roster that has already gone out.
What should an employer do when an employee is injured at work?
Three things on three different clocks. Notify SafeWork NSW immediately on 13 10 50 if the injury is serious or the incident was dangerous. Notify your workers compensation insurer within 48 hours of becoming aware of the injury, which SIRA cites to sections 44 and 266 of the 1998 Act. Record it in your register of injuries. The insurer must then begin weekly payments to an entitled worker within seven days of notification, subject to a reasonable excuse.
How long do I have to report a workplace injury in NSW?
Forty eight hours to notify your insurer, running from when you became aware of the injury rather than from when a claim form was filled in. A serious injury, illness, dangerous incident or death must be notified to SafeWork NSW immediately on 13 10 50, which takes notifications 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Does a casual employee get workers compensation in Australia?
Yes. Workers compensation covers workers and a casual is a worker. Being unrostered the following week, being on a trial shift, or having worked only a handful of shifts does not change the entitlement. Casual wages also count towards the total wages your premium is calculated on.
What is a register of injuries?
A record kept by the employer in which workplace injuries and illnesses are written down. SafeWork NSW requires employers to maintain one. Keep it where staff can actually reach it and record minor incidents too, because the pattern across a year is what tells you which part of your kitchen is causing the claims.
What does a workplace injury cost a restaurant?
Mostly roster costs, not insurance, in the first month. Covering four eight hour shifts at the Saturday casual rate for a Level 2 food and beverage attendant is A$1,299.84 on the award rates applying from 1 July 2026, which is Skai Solutions' arithmetic on published figures. Add the management hours for the notification and claim, then the premium effect, which arrives months later.
What if the injured employee refuses medical treatment?
You still notify. The notification duty sits with you as the person conducting the business and it is not conditional on the worker seeking treatment or agreeing to a claim. Record what happened in the register of injuries on the day, because an injury that seems minor on the night is routinely worse a week later.
Are the rules the same in New Zealand?
No. New Zealand runs a no-fault scheme through ACC rather than state-based workers compensation insurance, and serious harm must be notified to WorkSafe New Zealand. The practical shape is similar, in that there is an immediate notification duty and a record to keep, but the timeframes and the forms are different. Check the New Zealand requirements directly rather than applying the NSW ones.