Last year, 191 Australians died at work
Machinery operators and drivers had the highest fatality rate in 2017, while 31% of occupational fatalities were caused by a vehicle collision.
This is according to ‘Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2018’ that has been released by Safe Work Australia.
The publication provides an overview of the key statistics in national work-related injury, disease and fatalities.
The latest statistics cover the trends, gender and age comparisons, and industry and occupation breakdowns for work health and safety in Australia.
In total, there were 191 deaths at work in 2017, and 93% of these fatalities were male.
The report reveals that there were 55 workplace deaths in 2017 among machinery operators and drivers. This was the highest rated occupation, at 7.1 deaths per 100,000 workers. It was followed by 56 deaths among labourers, which equates to 4.6 fatalities per 100,000 workers.
When breaking it down by industry, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry had the highest rate of fatalities, at 27%.
There were 106,260 serious workers compensation claims made in 2016–17, and 64% of these were made by men. Meanwhile, the most common age bracket in terms of frequency for serious claims was 60–64 years, with 7.7 claims made per million hours worked.
The most common serious claims were made for injuries resulting from body stressing (38%) and falls, trips and slips (24%). One-quarter of all serious injuries claims came from labourers, with technicians and trades workers following closely behind at 19%.
The report also explores the costs of work-related injuries and diseases, which have been increasing over the years. In 2000–01, total cost was $34.3 billion, while in 2012–13 it was $61.8 billion.
This year, Key Work Health and Safety Statistics has been released as a webpage with hyperlinks to help people find the information they need. Read the full publication on the Safe Work Australia website — Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2018.
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