Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2024

Improvement in Work Safety in Australia

  • Work-related injury rate is now at 3.5%, significantly lower than the global average of 12.1%.
  • Over 1,880 traumatic injury fatalities and 1,165,100 serious workers’ compensation claims occurred in the last decade.
  • The economy could grow by $28.6 billion annually if work-related injuries were eliminated, potentially creating 185,500 jobs.

Key Statistics from 2024

  • 76% of traumatic injury fatalities and 61% of serious compensation claims arise from 6 sectors:
    • Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
    • Public administration and safety
    • Transport, postal, and warehousing
    • Manufacturing
    • Health care and social assistance
    • Construction
  • Leading causes of fatal injuries:
    • Vehicle incidents: 42% of fatalities
    • Falls from height: 15%, with a 71% increase from the previous year

Mental Health and Serious Claims

  • 80% of serious claims involve:
    • Body stressing
    • Falls, slips, and trips
    • Being hit by moving objects
    • Mental stress
  • Mental health claims accounted for 11% of all serious claims, with a median time lost of over 5 times the overall average.

Worker Fatalities (2023)

  • 200 workers died from traumatic injuries, a 5% rise from the 5-year average of 191.
  • Fatality rate remains steady at 1.4 per 100,000 workers.
  • 19% reduction in fatality rate since 2013.

Fatalities by State/Territory

  • New South Wales recorded the highest number of worker fatalities: 60.
  • Northern Territory had the highest fatality rate: 3.6 per 100,000 workers.

Fatalities by Sex

  • 95% of fatalities involved men; the fatality rate for men is 2.6 per 100,000 workers.

Fatalities by Age Group

  • Workers aged 45 and over accounted for over 54% of fatalities.
  • The 65+ age group had the highest fatality rate at 3.9 per 100,000.

Fatalities by Incident Mechanism (2023)

  • Vehicle incidents: 42% of worker deaths.
  • Falls from height: 15%, reflecting a significant increase.
  • In Construction, nearly 45% of falls occurred.

Occupations with Highest Fatalities

  • Machinery operators and drivers: 73 fatalities (highest rate of 8.3 per 100,000 workers).
  • Labourers: 53 fatalities (4.4 per 100,000 workers).

Serious Claims Overview

  • 10 years of data shows a notable increase in serious claims, with a count increase of 23,700 (20.5%).
  • The frequency rate increase is modest, at 0.05 claims per million hours worked.

Significant Time Lost Claims

  • Increasing median time lost relates to a decrease in no time lost claims and an increase in claims involving significant time lost (≥13 weeks).

Claims by Gender and Nature of Injury (2022-23)

  • Serious claims: 58.9% men; 41.1% women, with women experiencing more time lost on average (7.6 weeks) compared to men (7.0 weeks).

Claims by Age and Nature of Injury

  • Age group 55+ had the highest frequency rate, while groups aged 25-34 had the lowest.

Nature of Claims by Major Groups

  • Injuries: grew from 25.8% (2012-13) to 34.5% (2022-23).
  • Mental health claims saw a 97.3% increase in the last decade.

Worker Injuries by Mechanism

  • Body stressing: 32.7% of claims, leading the statistics.
  • Falls and slips: 21.8% of claims.
  • Mental stress remains a critical issue, holding 10% of claims.

Conclusion

  • A significant amount of work is needed to address work-related injuries, focusing on high-risk industries and mechanisms (like vehicle incidents and falls) to improve worker safety in Australia. This includes fostering a safer working environment and reducing mental health issues in the workplace.