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Unique ID
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IIAF00001
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| PART 1 – INVESTIGATION CHECKLIST |
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Incident and near Miss Number investigating
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NYR-2026-001
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Who is involved in Completing this Investigation?
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Jody Xu
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Incident / Injury: How do you think the incident / injury happened and what were they doing at the time?
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On Wednesday, 24 June 2026 at approximately 9:30 am, two workers were undertaking scheduled cleaning duties at the Nyirripi Childcare Centre under the Central Desert Regional Council contract.
During the course of work, a disagreement developed between the workers regarding work allocation and responsibilities.
The disagreement escalated into a verbal argument followed by a physical altercation.
During the incident, the male contractor made physical contact with the female worker, causing her to fall to the ground.
The female worker then attempted to leave the workplace.
While leaving the work area, she fell a second time. The circumstances surrounding the second fall could not be confirmed.
The female worker exited the childcare facility where she encountered the Council Site Manager.
The Site Manager assisted the worker in contacting Northern Territory Police.
At approximately 12:30 pm, police attended the site.
The male contractor was taken into police custody.
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How long had they been working prior to the incident / injury?
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Approximately 90 minutes.
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How long had they been working on this task?
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Approximately 90 minutes.
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Is this task part of their normal duties?
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Yes
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Have they been instructed / trained in this task?
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Yes,Both workers had previously undertaken commercial cleaning duties for the company and had received normal induction and task instructions.
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What were they doing in the time prior to the incident / injury?
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Cleaning internal areas of the childcare facility in accordance with the scheduled scope of works.
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Are there any other factors involved (e.g. management, the work environment, equipment, maintenance, individual)?
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Possible contributing factors identified during investigation include: • Interpersonal conflict between workers • Remote community working environment • Shared accommodation during deployment • Escalation of disagreement into inappropriate workplace behaviour
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What do they think could have been done to prevent this incident from occurring?
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* Workers should immediately report interpersonal conflict to management before the situation escalates. * Workers involved in personal relationships should not be accommodated together during remote deployments where practicable. * Clear expectations regarding workplace behaviour and conflict resolution should be reinforced before remote assignments. * If conflict arises, workers should separate immediately and contact management for assistance rather than attempting to resolve the matter themselves.
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Any other comments or observations?
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Following police attendance, the male contractor was removed from the workplace.
The female worker attended the local health clinic for medical assessment.
Due to the incident, scheduled works were interrupted.
On 25 June 2026, Jody travelled to Nyirripi with replacement staff.
Cleaning services were completed on 27 June 2026.
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What sort of incident / injury occurred?
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Type of Injury
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Was Safe work method Statement followed
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Yes
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Location Of Incident
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Nyirripi Childcare Centre
Nyirripi
Nyirripi, NT 0875
Australia
Map It
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| Identification of Equipment/ Object/ Insect Involved |
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Equipment in Good working order
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None.
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| PART 2 – RECOMMENDATIONS |
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Investigators Final Comments
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Following investigation, it was determined that this incident resulted from inappropriate workplace behaviour between two workers and was unrelated to the cleaning process or work equipment.
The incident created significant Work Health and Safety concerns, interrupted contracted services, required police attendance and replacement staffing, and had the potential to negatively impact client confidence.
Management determined that further review of the worker's suitability for future work allocation was required.
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Date feedback provided to person reporting the injury/incident
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01/07/2026
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Investigators Name
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Jody Xu
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Investigators Contact details
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0435872687
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Investigators Signature
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