Safe Work Australia: Key WHS Statistics 2021
Work-related fatalities*, injuries and illnesses can have devastating impacts on individuals and those around them. To help prevent such occurrences, it is vital that employers and employees understand the main threats to work, health and safety in Australia.
Every year, Safe Work Australia releases data on work-related fatalities and workers’ compensation claims. We have summarised some of the key findings from their latest report (October, 2021).
Work-related fatalities in 2020
Tragically, there were 194 total fatalities in 2020.
96% were male.
41% were caused by vehicle collisions.
Being hit by moving objects and falls from a height both accounted for over 10%.
Machinery operators and drivers had the highest number AND rate by occupation (67 fatalities, 8.4 fatality rate^), followed by labourers.
Transport, postal and warehousing were the worst offending industries (49 fatalities), while agriculture, forestry and fishing had the highest fatality rate.
Workers’ compensation claims 2019-20
Over the given year, 120,355 ‘serious claims’ for compensation were made. This figure is an increase from 114,435 claims in 2018-19. Serious claims include all accepted workers’ compensation claims for an incapacity that results in a total absence from work of at least one working week, excluding fatalities and journey claims.
Labourers accounted for the greatest proportion by occupation (24%), followed by community and personal service workers (19%)
Health care and social assistance represented the greatest proportion as an industry, followed by construction and manufacturing.
Body stressing was the leading cause (37% of claims), followed by falls, trips and slips of a person (23%).
Traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injury accounted for 38% of claims.
Almost 50% of injury claims were injuries to the arms/upper limbs and lower limbs.
$13,500 median compensation paid per claim.
6.6 weeks median time lost per claim.
Workers aged 60-64 had the highest claim rate, while workers aged 30-34 had the lowest.
Clerical and administrative employees
Although risks of physical harm are less overt, white-collar offices are not immune to WHS concerns. In 2020, there was one work-related fatality amongst clerical and administrative employees, and this occupation accounted for 4% of all serious claims (2019-20).
Takeaways
Safe Work’s report provides many insights that employers looking to improve their own organisations and mitigate risk should consider.
For instance, those operating in high-risk industries with overlap in machine operation and transport should exercise vigilance and implement necessary risk mitigation practices.
Equally, many compensation claims such as those for body stress are not industry-specific. This provides valuable insight for all employers on how to reduce risk and improve safety for workers.
Indeed, if only one thing is taken away from this report, it should be that the consequences of getting worker safety wrong can be both tragic and costly.
Click below to read Safe Work Australia’s findings.
*Work-related fatalities refer to people who die from an injury sustained in the course of a work activity. It excludes work-related fatalities resulting from diseases, natural causes, and suicides.
^Fatality rate is the number of fatalities per 100,000 workers.