Common critical incidents in workplaces

Critical incidents can happen in any workplace. Construction and manufacturing workers may face serious physical hazards, while employees in healthcare, retail, and community services may encounter violence, medical emergencies, or traumatic situations.

In this guide, we'll explore some common examples of critical incidents in the workplace across Australian industries, their potential psychological effects, and how specialist support and interventions can assist affected employees.

What is a critical incident in the workplace?

A critical incident is a serious event that threatens people's safety, causes significant harm, or exposes employees to a potentially traumatic experience. It may involve an injury, death, act of violence, or another distressing situation that disrupts normal workplace activities.

For example, an employee who slips on a wet floor without suffering an injury may have experienced a minor workplace incident. However, a fall resulting in life-threatening injuries, or a near miss where someone narrowly escapes being crushed by machinery, may constitute a critical incident.

The distinction isn't always clear-cut. The nature of the event, the circumstances surrounding it, and its potential impact on employees all need to be considered.

A critical incident also differs from a legally notifiable incident. Formal reporting requirements depend on the type of event and the work health and safety legislation that applies in your state or territory.

Who can be affected by a critical incident?

If you're an employer or manager, it's important to recognise that the psychological effects of a critical incident may extend beyond the people directly involved.

Consider a serious machinery accident at a manufacturing plant. The injured worker may experience physical and emotional trauma, while a colleague who witnessed the accident might struggle with distressing memories. Other employees may become anxious about returning to the same work area.

Comcare recognises this broader exposure, stating: "Witnessing, investigating or being directly exposed to traumatic events or material is a workplace psychosocial hazard."

An employee's response will depend on several factors, including the nature of the event and their personal circumstances. Some people may experience temporary distress, while others may require additional support to manage more persistent symptoms. Recognising these differences can help you understand why a critical incident may affect an entire team, even when only one person has been physically injured.

Common examples of critical incidents

The types of critical incidents employees encounter often reflect the nature of their work. While some involve immediate physical danger, others arise through interactions with customers, patients, colleagues, or distressing material.

The following scenarios are illustrative examples rather than accounts of actual events. They show how critical incidents may occur across different Australian industries and why their effects can extend beyond the immediate emergency.

1. Serious workplace accidents and injuries

Common industries: Construction, manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and logistics.

Serious accidents are among the most recognisable critical incidents. They may involve falls from height, machinery malfunctions, falling objects, or equipment failures that result in severe injuries or fatalities.

Imagine a construction worker falling from scaffolding while colleagues are working nearby. Emergency services attend the scene, work stops, and the employees who witnessed the accident are left to process what happened. Similar situations can occur when a manufacturing worker becomes trapped in machinery or someone is struck by a falling object in a warehouse.

Although the injured worker's physical health will be an immediate concern, their colleagues may also experience significant distress. Someone who witnessed the accident might develop intrusive memories, feel guilty about being unable to prevent it, or become fearful of working near similar equipment.

These incidents are particularly relevant to physically demanding industries. Safe Work Australia reported that falls from height accounted for 13% of traumatic work-related injury fatalities in 2024.

2. Serious vehicle accidents

Common industries: Transport, logistics, construction, agriculture, and emergency services.

If your employees drive for work or operate vehicles on site, serious collisions and rollovers may be among the critical incidents your organisation could encounter.

For example, a truck driver may witness a fatal collision involving a colleague, while a farm worker could be seriously injured when a tractor overturns. Vehicle-related incidents can also occur in warehouses, where employees work around forklifts and other moving equipment.

The risks are significant. Vehicle incidents accounted for 42% of Australian worker fatalities in 2024, making them the leading cause of traumatic work-related injury deaths that year.

3. Workplace violence and physical assault

Common industries: Retail, hospitality, healthcare, security, and community services.

Employees who interact with customers, patients, or members of the public may encounter threatening or violent behaviour. Although some roles carry greater exposure to these risks, serious workplace violence can occur in any industry.

A retail employee might be threatened during an armed robbery, while a bartender could be physically assaulted by a customer. In healthcare, a worker may experience aggression from a patient or visitor, particularly during an emotionally charged or unpredictable situation.

Violence can also occur between colleagues. Serious assaults, credible threats, and other threatening behaviour may constitute critical incidents when they place employees at risk of harm.

For your organisation, it's worth recognising that the psychological consequences of workplace violence may continue after the immediate danger has passed. Returning to the same environment can be particularly difficult for employees who no longer feel safe there.

4. The sudden death of an employee or colleague

Common industries: All industries.

The unexpected death of a colleague can have a profound effect on a workplace, especially when employees have developed close relationships over many years.

A worker may die following a workplace accident, experience a fatal medical emergency, or pass away unexpectedly outside working hours. Although the circumstances differ, the news may leave colleagues struggling with shock, sadness, and disbelief.

Consider a small accounting firm that learns a long-standing employee has died suddenly over the weekend. The death didn't occur at work, but employees who shared an office with that person every day may experience significant grief.

A death by suicide can also be particularly distressing, with colleagues experiencing confusion, sadness, or unanswered questions. These situations require sensitivity, especially when employees have different relationships with the person who passed away.

Not every workplace bereavement will constitute a critical incident. However, if an unexpected death has substantially affected your team, employees may benefit from access to additional emotional support.

5. Medical emergencies

Common industries: Healthcare, aged care, education, hospitality, and office-based workplaces.

Medical emergencies can become critical incidents when an employee, customer, patient, or client experiences a life-threatening health event.

An office worker might discover an unconscious colleague, while a restaurant employee may witness a customer experiencing cardiac arrest. In an aged care facility, employees could be involved in an unexpected medical emergency affecting a resident.

Healthcare professionals routinely encounter medical emergencies as part of their work. Nevertheless, an unusually distressing case, unexpected patient death, or emergency involving a colleague may have a significant psychological impact.

For employees without medical training, witnessing a life-threatening emergency may be particularly frightening. They might continue thinking about what happened, question their actions, or worry about the person's wellbeing long after the situation has been resolved.

The emotional impact isn't always determined by the outcome. Even when someone survives and makes a full recovery, employees who genuinely feared for that person's life may continue to experience distress.

6. Natural disasters and environmental emergencies

Common industries: Agriculture, tourism, construction, transport, and emergency services.

Australia's bushfires, floods, severe storms, and other natural disasters can expose employees to dangerous and potentially traumatic situations.

A regional tourism operator may need to evacuate staff and visitors when a bushfire threatens the property. Agricultural workers could become stranded during flooding, while emergency services personnel may encounter serious injuries, fatalities, and extensive damage during rescue operations.

Natural disasters can be especially challenging because employees may be concerned about their own safety while also worrying about their families, homes, and communities.

Some workers may also experience substantial disruption to both their personal and professional lives. An employee whose home has been damaged during a flood, for instance, may have limited access to their usual support networks while their workplace is also dealing with the emergency.

For emergency responders, repeated exposure to traumatic scenes can add to the psychological demands of their work. These experiences may affect employees differently depending on their circumstances and previous exposure to similar events.

7. Exposure to traumatic events or material

Common industries: Emergency services, healthcare, social work, child protection, legal services, and technology.

Not every critical incident involves an employee experiencing physical danger firsthand. Some people encounter potentially traumatic situations through the information they receive, the cases they investigate, or the individuals they support.

A police officer may attend a fatal accident, while a child protection worker could encounter evidence of severe abuse. A lawyer might review disturbing evidence during a criminal case, or a content moderator may repeatedly examine graphic online material.

These situations can involve vicarious trauma, where someone is affected by indirect exposure to another person's traumatic experiences. Employees who encounter distressing events or material repeatedly may also experience cumulative trauma, with the psychological effects developing over time.

If your employees regularly work with traumatic material, it's important to understand that psychological harm may develop without a single identifiable event. In other cases, one particularly distressing incident may have a significant effect on an employee who has previously managed similar situations without difficulty.

8. Serious bullying, harassment, and sexual assault

Common industries: All industries.

Critical incidents can also arise from serious harmful behaviour involving colleagues, customers, clients, or other people connected to the workplace.

An employee may be sexually assaulted at a work function, receive credible threats from a colleague, or experience severe intimidation. Such incidents can affect their physical safety, psychological wellbeing, and ability to feel comfortable at work.

Some harmful behaviours occur as isolated events, while others develop through repeated exposure. Under Australian workplace law, bullying generally involves repeated unreasonable behaviour that creates a risk to health and safety. Sexual harassment, however, can involve a single incident.

Although not every instance of workplace conflict or misconduct constitutes a critical incident, serious assaults, credible threats, and particularly distressing events may warrant specialist support. Affected employees may experience fear, anxiety, shame, or difficulty trusting others. Their colleagues may also be distressed, particularly if they witnessed the incident or have concerns about their own safety.

9. Serious near misses

Common industries: Construction, manufacturing, mining, transport, agriculture, and aviation.

A critical incident doesn't always result in physical injury. Sometimes, an employee narrowly escapes a situation that could have caused serious harm or death.

Imagine a crane dropping a heavy load only metres away from construction workers. Alternatively, a truck driver may narrowly avoid a major collision, or a manufacturing employee might escape becoming trapped in industrial equipment. Although everyone may walk away physically unharmed, the experience can still be frightening. Employees who genuinely believed they were about to die or suffer serious injuries may continue replaying the event in their minds.

Some people may become anxious about performing similar tasks or working near the equipment involved. Witnesses may also experience distress, especially if they initially believed a colleague had been injured. These situations illustrate why the absence of physical injury doesn't necessarily mean an incident has had no psychological consequences.

10. Major cyber incidents and security breaches

Common industries: Finance, technology, healthcare, government, and professional services.

A serious cyber attack or security breach may become a workplace critical incident when it threatens people's safety, exposes sensitive personal information, or causes significant harm.

For example, a hospital may experience a ransomware attack that prevents employees from accessing essential patient information. Staff could become distressed if they fear the disruption will compromise patient care.

A major data breach may also expose employees' personal information, creating concerns about identity theft, financial loss, or personal safety.

However, a routine technical failure isn't necessarily a critical incident from a psychological perspective. The seriousness of the threat, the potential consequences for affected individuals, and the distress experienced by employees all need to be considered.

If your organisation experiences a major security incident, employees may be affected by more than the operational disruption, particularly when their own safety or personal information is at risk.

Why critical incident support needs vary between industries

The circumstances of a critical incident can influence the type of support your employees need. A construction worker may feel apprehensive about returning to the site of a serious accident, while a nurse might struggle with memories of a distressing medical emergency. A retail employee who has experienced an armed robbery may feel particularly vulnerable when working alone.

Working conditions can also affect access to professional support. Employees at remote mining sites may have limited access to local mental health services, while healthcare workers may need appointments that accommodate rotating shifts. If your organisation operates across several locations, you may need support that can reach employees in different settings.

Individual circumstances matter just as much. Two employees who witness the same incident may respond differently, and their needs may change over time. Some may want to speak with a professional soon afterwards, while others may prefer practical assistance and access to counselling when they're ready.

Recognising these differences can help you provide appropriate support without making assumptions about how employees should respond or how long their recovery should take.

Providing support before and after a critical incident

When a serious incident occurs, employees may benefit from timely access to professional mental health support. Talked's critical incident support services connect organisations with trauma-trained psychologists who can support affected employees and provide guidance to managers.

Talked's broader Employee Assistance Program (EAP) also gives employees access to confidential counselling and ongoing mental health support. This can be particularly valuable when the psychological effects of an incident emerge gradually or continue beyond the immediate aftermath.

Prevention is equally important. A comprehensive physical hazards and psychosocial risk assessment helps employers identify workplace hazards, understand potential risks to employee wellbeing, and determine where improvements may be needed. While not all critical incidents can be prevented, recognising and addressing psychosocial hazards early may reduce the likelihood of certain incidents and contribute to a safer, more supportive workplace.