How long should accident register records be kept?
There is no specific term for which accident register records should be kept. However, they should be retained for as long as they might be useful for hazard management purposes.
An accident register is a tool to assist hazard identification. When a work-related accident occurs that harms (or might have harmed) any person, the details must be recorded in the accident register and the occurrence must be investigated to determine if it arose from a significant hazard that may cause someone to be harmed in future.
As part of the investigation, the contents of the accident register should be checked to see if similar accidents have happened in the past.
If the hazard that caused an accident has been eliminated, or controls put in place that would make a re-occurrence extremely unlikely, then there is no value in retaining the record and it may be discarded.
Date Modified: Friday, August 28, 2009
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