Work-related fatalities data

About the fatalities data

The Traumatic Injury Fatalities database includes information on all work-related traumatic injury fatalities in Australia, since 2003. 

The scope of this collection includes all persons (workers and bystanders): 

• who were traumatically fatally injured, and
• whose injuries resulted from work activity or exposures, and
• whose injuries occurred in an incident that took place in Australian territories or territorial sea.

Fatalities resulting from diseases, natural causes and suicides are excluded.

Preliminary fatalities dataset

Worker fatalities data is first captured in the preliminary fatalities dataset. Preliminary data often comes from initial media reports. Preliminary counts are usually less than finalised counts, as the finalised counts include fatalities notified through other sources. 

Preliminary data for the year to date is updated on a fortnightly basis and published in the Preliminary fatalities dashboard.

Traumatic Injury Fatalities database

At the end of the year, Safe Work Australia validates the preliminary fatalities dataset against a range of sources. The sources we use to supplement and verify our dataset include: 

• notifications from Work Health and Safety Authorities,
• the National Coronial Information System (NCIS), and
• the Agency’s National Data Set for Compensation Based Statistics (NDS). 

As each of these sources have limitations, multiple sources are used to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the work-related fatalities that occur each year. The confirmed work-related fatalities are collated into the Traumatic Injury Fatalities database and published in the Work-related fatalities dashboard.