Incident & Workplace Investigations
What happened, and why, in sequence.
Incident and workplace investigations for employers, insurers and solicitors across the Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast and New England. We conduct ICAM investigations. Each is structured using the ICAM method, with witness statements taken in the witness's own words and a report that records the facts without an opinion on liability.
The service
An independent record of an incident or a workplace matter.
Factum Investigations is engaged after a workplace injury or near miss, or when an allegation of misconduct, theft or fraud needs to be examined. We establish what happened, in what order, and what the scene, the documents and the witnesses show.
The report is written on the basis that every party may read it, including the worker and their representatives. It records facts and process. It does not offer an opinion on liability, on medical questions or on whether management action was reasonable.
Factum Investigations is licensed under the Security Industry Act 1997 (NSW). NSW Master Licence 000111255. Statutory investigations under the Work Health and Safety Act are conducted by SafeWork NSW inspectors; our investigations are commissioned by employers, insurers and their solicitors.
What you receive
- A written report setting out what happened and why, in sequence, with the evidence behind each finding
- Signed witness statements, dated, in numbered paragraphs, taken in the witness's own words
- Scene documentation: measurements, photographs, video and, where the site suits it, aerial capture
- An indexed bundle of every document relied on, with a record of where each came from
What we take on
Four kinds of instruction.
Incident investigations
After a workplace injury or near miss. Structured using the ICAM method, with causation set out as what happened and why, in sequence.
Reasonable management action
The factual record behind a reasonable management action question: what management did, when, under which policy and with what evidence.
Misconduct, theft and fraud
Allegations of misconduct, theft or fraud within a workplace, investigated for the employer, with findings made on the balance of probabilities.
Witness statements
Statements from workers, supervisors and witnesses, in a form consistent with what courts and the Personal Injury Commission expect.
Incident investigations
Structured using the ICAM method.
Each contributing factor is placed in one of four categories, so the report explains not only what failed but why it was able to fail.
The four categories
- Absent or failed defences: the controls that did not prevent or limit the incident.
- Individual or team actions: the actions that led directly to the event.
- Task and environmental conditions: the conditions under which those actions took place.
- Organisational factors: the systemic issues that allowed those conditions to exist or go unchecked.
Causation and the scene
Causation is set out as what happened and why, in sequence: the task, the conditions, the actions taken, the controls in place and whether they worked, and the organisational factors behind them. Each step is tied to the evidence that supports it.
The scene is measured, photographed and recorded on video. Where the site is large or the layout matters, we document it from the air. See aerial scene capture.
Witness statements
In the witness's own words.
Statements are taken in the witness's own words, in the first person, dated, in numbered paragraphs and signed on every page, in a form consistent with what NSW courts expect of affidavit evidence and what the Personal Injury Commission requires of signed statements.
We do not take sworn statements. Where a sworn affidavit is required, it is sworn before a solicitor or an independent Justice of the Peace.
Reasonable management action
The record behind the question.
We record what management did, when, under which policy and with what contemporaneous evidence, so employers and insurers can address the reasonable management action questions under the Fair Work Act and the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW).
Whether management action was reasonable is a decision for the Fair Work Commission, the Personal Injury Commission or a court, not for us. Our report sets out the facts and the process.
A poorly run investigation can itself amount to unreasonable conduct, which is why our process is documented, timely and fair to everyone involved.
How an engagement runs
From referral to written report.
Referral
An outline is enough: what happened, who is involved, what is in dispute and what the report is for. Contact us by phone, email or the enquiry form. Nothing is discussed with a third party.
Scope in writing
We confirm the scope, the people to be interviewed, the documents needed and the site access required, in writing, before work starts.
Investigation
Interviews, scene documentation and document review, carried out under licence and within the agreed scope. Evidence is logged with a chain of custody as it is collected.
Report delivered
The written report, the signed statements and the indexed evidence, delivered to the instructing party.
Limits
What governs the work, and what we will not do.
How the work is governed
- Licensed under the Security Industry Act 1997 (NSW). NSW Master Licence 000111255.
- Findings are made on the balance of probabilities, and the more serious the allegation, the stronger the evidence we require before we make a finding.
- Insurer-commissioned investigations are conducted to the expectations in SIRA's Standards of practice.
What we will not do
- Offer an opinion on liability, on medical questions or on whether management action was reasonable.
- Take sworn statements. Affidavits are sworn before a solicitor or an independent Justice of the Peace.
- Conduct covert surveillance of staff at work, record conversations or use a pretext.
- Move, handle or collect plant or items at a notifiable-incident site before an inspector arrives or gives a direction.
Related services
When another service fits better.
Factual Investigations
Where a workers compensation, work injury damages or public liability claim needs interviews, statements and a factual report.
Factual investigationsSurveillance
Where a claim turns on activity that needs to be established, conducted in or from public places and reported with a timestamped log.
SurveillanceAerial Scene Capture
Where a site or scene needs to be documented from the air by a remote pilot licence holder on a registered aircraft.
Aerial scene captureWhere we work
The Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast and New England.
Factum Investigations is based in Newcastle and attends workplaces and incident sites across the Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast and New England, by appointment. See where we work.
Common questions
Incident and workplace investigations, answered plainly.
Who commissions an incident or workplace investigation?
Does the report say whether management action was reasonable?
Can scene work begin before SafeWork NSW has attended?
Are the witness statements sworn?
Ready to start