Over the past ten years, there have been more than 1,850 traumatic injury fatalities in Australian workplaces, and over 1,140,000 workers have made a serious workers’ compensation claim involving more than one week of working time lost. That’s around one in every twelve workers. All workers have the right to a healthy and safe working environment, however work‑related injuries and illnesses can occur in any industry or occupation, and the impacts are felt by us all – workers, their families and the community. Findings from Safe Work Australia’s research, Safer, healthier, wealthier, show that in the absence of work-related injuries and illnesses on average each year Australia’s economy would be $28.6 billion larger, 185,500 additional full-time equivalent jobs would be created, and workers across all occupations and skill levels would benefit from an average wage rise of 1.3%.The findings from the latest Key Work Health and Safety Statistics 2023 show that:Body stressing, Falls, slips and trips, and Being hit by moving objects are the cause of most work-related injuries in Australia,Vehicle incidents and Being hit by moving objects continue to account for most fatalities, and Work-related mental health conditions are rising, with time off work in these cases more than four times longer than for other injuries. Work-related injury fatalitiesSafe Work Australia compiles the Work‑related Traumatic Injury Fatalities dataset which provides national statistics on all workers and bystanders fatally injured at work. This data draws on a range of information sources, including: initial reporting of fatalities in the media or on relevant authority websites such as police, road authorities and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau notifications to Safe Work Australia from the jurisdictional authorities, and the National Coronial Information System which provides confidential access to coroners’, police and other investigative reports.Work-related fatalities resulting from diseases, natural causes and suicides are excluded. Further explanatory notes on the data can be found in the About our datasets page of the interactive data website. This report provides statistics about people who die from an injury sustained in the course of a work activity (worker fatalities) in Australian territories or territorial seas. In 2022, there were 195 worker fatalities due to traumatic injuries sustained in the course of a work‑related activity. Overall, the number and rate of fatalities has been trending downward since 2007, however it has been relatively static over the recent years. Over the past 5 years (2018 to 2022), the average fatality rate was 1.4 fatalities per 100,000 workers and an average of 180 workers died per year. There has been an increase in the number and rate of fatalities since the previous year (13% increase from 172 fatalities in 2021; 8% increase from 1.3 fatalities per 100,000 workers in 2021).The lowest recorded fatality rate of 1.1 fatalities per 100,000 workers was recorded in 2018. Trends in worker fatalities, 2003 to 2022 Note: Historical data are updated as additional information from finalised coroners' reports and workers’ compensation claims becomes available.iThe ‘fatality rate’ is defined as the number of traumatic injury fatalities per 100,000 workers.Worker fatalities – Demographics, 2022Worker Fatalities by Sex, 2022 The vast majority of workers killed from work‑related activities are men (93%; 181 fatalities in 2022). Men also have a higher fatality rate than women (2.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers).Worker fatalities by age group, 2022Age group (years)Number of fatalitiesFatality rate (fatalities per 100,000 workers)Under 25160.825-34280.935-44301.045-54361.355-64442.265 and over416.2In 2022, workers aged 45 and over accounted for almost two thirds (62%) of all worker fatalities recorded.Workers aged 65 and over had the highest fatality rate at 6.2 fatalities per 100,000 workers (more than 4 times the overall worker fatality rate of 1.4 fatalities per 100,000 workers). Younger workers aged under 25 years old had the lowest fatality rate (0.8 fatalities per 100,000 workers), closely followed by those aged 25-34 (0.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers).Worker fatalities by state/territory, 2022**fatalities are presented according to the state or territory where the fatality occurred, not the jurisdiction under which the fatality fell. In 2022, New South Wales recorded the highest number of fatalities (51 workers) followed by Queensland (49 workers).Western Australia recorded the highest fatality rate (2.2 fatalities per 100,000 workers), followed by the Northern Territory (2.1 fatalities per 100,000 workers).Worker fatalities – Mechanism, 2022Worker Fatalities by most common Mechanism of incident, 2022 The mechanism of incident refers to the overall action, exposure or event that describes the circumstances that resulted in a worker fatality.Vehicle incidents (81 workers; 42%) and Being hit by moving objects (26 workers; 13%) accounted for more than half (55%) of all worker fatalities in 2022.Vehicle incident includes incidents where an occupant of a vehicle is killed following a collision with another vehicle or a stationary object. Vehicles include not only road vehicles such as cars and trucks, but also machines such as aircraft, boats, loaders, tractors and quad bikes.Being hit by moving objects includes fatalities involving workers on foot being hit by vehicles, as well as being hit by other moving equipment or objects.Mechanism of incidentFatalities (count)Fatalities (%)Vehicle incident8142%Being hit by moving objects2613%Being hit by falling objects179%Falls from a height 179%Being trapped between stationary and moving objects116%Rollover of non-road vehicle105%Being trapped by moving machinery or equipment105%Other mechanisms2312% Data Spotlight: Vehicles Vehicles and work-related fatalities continue to be closely related.In the case of 72% (141) of worker fatalities in 2022, at least one vehicle was directly involved in the incident. This has slightly increased since 2021, where 68% (117) of worker fatalities involved at least one vehicle.Of those fatalities, 41% (58) involved at least one truck in 2022. This has decreased since 2021, where 53% (62) of these fatalities involved at least one truck.There are significantly more worker fatalities resulting from single vehicle incidents than multiple vehicle incidents, with 77% (108) of vehicle-involved worker fatalities stemming from single vehicle incidents. Work-related fatalities – Occupation, 2022 Worker Fatalities by Occupation, 2022OccupationFatalities (count)Fatalities (rate)Machinery operators and drivers748.4Labourers342.9Managers321.8Technicians and trades workers281.5Professionals160.5Community and personal service workers90.6Clerical and administrative workers20.1Sales workers00In 2022, Machinery Operators and Drivers accounted for the highest proportion of worker fatalities (38%). They also recorded the highest fatality rate at 8.4 fatalities per 100,000 workers. This is much higher than the other occupations, which recorded fatality rates less than 3 fatalities per 100,000 workers.Work-related fatalities – Industry, 2022 Worker fatalities by industry of employer, 2022Industry of employerFatalities (count)Fatalities (rate)Transport, postal and warehousing679.5Agriculture, forestry and fishing4414.7Construction272.2Public administration and safety111.2Manufacturing101.2Mining72.4Administrative and support services61.4Electricity, gas, water and waste services53.0Professional, scientific and technical services30.2Other services30.6Wholesale trade30.8Accommodation and food services30.3Health care and social assistance20.1Education and training20.2Retail trade10.1Information media and telecommunications10.5Arts and recreation services00.0Financial and insurance services00Rental, hiring and real estate services00In 2022, 71% of worker fatalities occurred in three industries. Transport, postal and warehousing fatalities accounted for 34% (67 fatalities), followed by fatalities in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (22%; 44 fatalities) and Construction industry (14%; 27 fatalities). The Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry recorded the highest fatality rate (14.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers), followed by the Transport, postal and warehousing industry (9.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers).Work-related injury and illnessSafe Work Australia compiles national workers’ compensation statistics using data obtained from workers’ compensation authorities in each state, territory and the Commonwealth government. These data are collated into the National Data Set for Compensation-based Statistics (NDS), which is Safe Work Australia’s primary source of information on work-related injuries and diseases. See About our datasets for more information. In 2021-22, Australian Bureau of Statistics Work-related injuries survey data showed that 497,300 of the 14.1 million people who had worked during the last 12 months (or 3.5% of the working population) experienced a work-related injury or illness, down from 4.2% in 2017-18 and 6.4% in 2005-06.The ABS advised caution in analysing the incidence of work-related injuries over the 2021-22 reference period, as the reduced level of economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to a lower likelihood of experiencing a work-related injury.These findings are reflected in Safe Work Australia’s NDS data. From 2020-21 to 2021-22p, whilst the number of serious claims has fallen slightly, by 1,400 (or 1.1%), there was a large increase in COVID-19 serious claims, up by 9,100 over the year. Compared with ten years ago (2011-12), the number of serious claims has increased marginally by 3,000, or 2.4%. When accounting for changes in hours worked, the claims frequency rate fell 9.7%, to 6.5 in 2020‑21.Serious Claims counts and Injury rates , 2011‑12 to 2021-22p Note: Data in this report refers to serious claims (that is, claims that involve one working week of time off work or more). Data for 2021-22 are preliminary (denoted by a ‘p’) and subject to revision in future years as further claims are finalised. In September 2023, Safe Work Australia implemented improvements to the estimates of the working population used to calculate injury rates from the National Dataset for Workers’ Compensation Statistics (NDS). As a result of these changes, a break in series occurs for work-related injury frequency and incidence rates using the NDS from 2021-22 onwards, reflected as a dotted line. Safe Work Australia advises caution when interpreting time series changes for rates calculated from the NDS spanning the period before and after this change.ii The ‘claims frequency rate’ is defined as the number of serious claims per million hours worked, using estimates of the working population covered under workers’ compensation schemes.iii The ‘claims incidence rate’ is defined as the number of serious claims per thousand workers.There are significant differences in the number of hours worked by different groups of workers and workers at different points in time. The claims frequency rate accounts for these differences and allows more accurate comparisons between different groups of workers and over time.Work-related injury and illness – DemographicsSerious Claims by Sex, 2021-22p The majority (60.8%) of serious claims were made by men, with men also experiencing a higher claims frequency rate (7.0) compared with women (5.7).In other words, when accounting for the different patterns of hours worked, men are 22.8% more likely to make a serious workers’ compensation claim than women.There are also notable differences in the type of Work-related injury and disease suffered by men and women, as indicated by the compensation paid and time lost associated with serious claims for workers of each sex.Claims for women have a higher median time lost (8.8 weeks) than claims for men (7.6 weeks).However, claims for men have a higher median compensation paid ($16,476) than claims for women ($14,604). This is due to the nature of injury and disease experienced, the types of jobs that women and men are more likely to work in, and differences in pay. Serious Claims by Age group, 2021‑22p Serious Claims by Age group, 2021‑22p Age groupClaims (count)Frequency rateIncidence rateUnder 2516,7006.88.325-3427,3005.69.335-4425,5005.49.145-5429,3006.912.055-6424,5008.614.065 and over4,5007.510.0Taking into account the hours worked by different groups of workers, the serious claims frequency rate was highest for those aged 55-64 years in 2021-22p (8.6 claims per million hours worked), followed by workers aged 65 and over (7.5).In 2021-22p, the lowest frequency rate was among workers aged 34-44 years (5.4 claims per million hours worked), followed by those aged 25-34 years (5.6). Younger workers aged under 25 years old are slightly more likely (6.8 claims per million hours worked) than average to make a serious workers’ compensation claim.Work-related injury and illness – Claims by MechanismSerious Claims by most common Mechanism, 2021-22p Serious Claims by Mechanism and Sex, 2021-22p Mechanism of incidentMalesFemalesTotalClaims (count)Claims (%)Claims (count)Claims (%)Claims (count)Claims (%)Body stressing25,60033.1%15,90031.9%41,60032.6%Falls, trips and slips of a person16,20021.0%11,90023.8%28,10022.0%Being hit by moving objects13,20017.0%6,00012.1%19,30015.1%Mental stress4,7006.0%6,20012.5%10,9008.5%Biological factors5,0006.5%4,6009.2%9,9007.7%Hitting objects with a part of the body6,5008.4%2,0004.0%8,5006.6%Vehicle incidents and other4,6005.9%2,1004.3%6,7005.3%Heat, electricity and other environmental factors9001.2%6001.2%1,6001.2%Chemicals and other substances6000.8%4000.9%1,1000.8%Sound and pressure1000.1%<1000.1%1000.1%Men made more than twice as many serious workers’ compensation claims for Being hit by moving objects and Vehicle incidents and other as women, and three times as many claims for Hitting objects with a part of the body. By contrast, serious workers’ compensation claims for Mental stress for women were more than twice as high (12.5%) as that for men (6.0%). Work-related injury and illness – Claims by NatureSerious Claims by Nature, 2021-22p Diseases and conditions are accounting for an increasing proportion of serious claims over time, with their share increasing from 26.0% to 34.0% over the past 10 years.Serious Claims by most common Nature, 2021‑22p Serious Claims by Nature and Sex, 2021-22pNature Major GroupMalesFemalesTotalClaims (count)Claims (%)Claims (count)Claims (%)Claims (count)Claims (%)Traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injury28,40036.7%18,30036.7%46,80036.6%Wounds, lacerations, amputations and internal organ damage13,60017.6%4,6009.3%18,30014.3%Musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases9,90012.7%7,60015.3%17,50013.7%Fractures8,90011.5%4,7009.3%13,60010.6%Mental health conditions5,0006.5%6,70013.4%11,7009.2%Infectious and parasitic diseases4,9006.4%4,5009.0%9,7007.6%Digestive system diseases1,7002.2%1000.2%1,8001.4%Burns1,1001.4%6001.2%1,7001.4%Nervous system and sense organ diseases6000.8%5001.1%1,1000.9%Intracranial injuries6000.7%5001.0%1,1000.8%Skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases2000.3%2000.4%4000.3%Respiratory system diseases1000.1%1000.3%2000.2%Injury to nerves and spinal cord1000.1%<1000.1%1000.1%Circulatory system diseases1000.1%<1000.1%1000.1%Neoplasms (cancer)<1000.1%<1000.0%1000.0%Other claims, injuries, and diseases2,2002.8%1,3002.7%3,5002.7% Work-related injury and illness – Mental health serious claimsMental health conditions accounted for 9.2% or 11,700 serious claims in 2021-22p. While this was a slight decline on 2020-21, it remains substantially higher than 10 years ago. Over the 10 years to 2021-22p:The proportion of claims for Mental health conditions has increased from 6.5% in 2011-12 to 9.2% in 2021‑22p.This has been driven by growth in the number of serious claims each year for Mental health conditions of 3,500 claims, or a 43.3%, increase over the period.This represents the largest growth in the number of claims each year for a Nature of injury/illness Major group observed over the period.Workplace mental health conditions are one of the costliest forms of workplace injury. They lead to significantly more time off work and higher compensation paid when compared to physical injuries and diseases.The median time lost from Mental health condition claims in 2020-21 (34.2 working weeks) was more than four times the median time lost across all claims (8.0).The median compensation paid for Mental health condition claims in 2020‑21 ($58,615) was close to four times the median compensation paid across all claims ($15,743). Work-related injury and illness – COVID-19 Serious Claims Serious Claims by Age group, 2021‑22pAge groupShare of claimsUnder 2514.2%25-3425.4%35-4424.4%45-5421.4%55-6412.5%65 and over2.1%COVID-19 Serious Claims by Industry, 2021-22pDivisionClaims (count)Claims (%)Public administration and safety2,40025.6%Health care and social assistance2,00020.7%Education and training1,30013.8%Retail trade1,00011.0%Transport, postal and warehousing8007.9%Accommodation and food services7007.2%Arts and recreation services4003.9%Construction4003.7%Manufacturing1001.5%Information media and telecommunications1001.3%Wholesale trade1000.9%Professional, scientific and technical services1000.6%Mining100 0.5%Other services<1000.4%Administrative and support services<1000.3%Rental, hiring and real estate services<1000.2%Agriculture, forestry and fishing<1000.2%Electricity, gas, water and waste services<1000.1%Financial and insurance services<1000.1%In 2021-22, the reference period for this data, significant COVID-19 outbreak events occurred including the ‘Delta’ and ‘Omicron’ waves. Hence, the latest claims data show a significant spike in COVID-19 serious claims as compared to the previous year (up by more than 9,100 claims). These data should be interpreted with caution. Some jurisdictions established presumptive rights for employees of prescribed occupations who contracted COVID-19. The occupations covered by these arrangements differed across jurisdictions. Serious workers’ compensation claims due to COVID-19 made up 7.5% of the total number of serious claims during the 2021-22p financial year.In 2021-22p, the highest proportion of COVID-19 serious claims was observed in the Public administration and safety industry (25.6%), followed by Health care and social assistance (20.7%) and Education and training (13.8%)Work-related injury and illness – Claims by Bodily locationSerious Claims by Bodily location, 2021-22p Serious Claims by Bodily location, 2021-22p Major groupClaims (count)Claims (%)Head4,2003.3%Neck2,3001.8%Trunk25,30019.8%Upper limbs41,70032.6%Lower limbs27,90021.8%Multiple locations4,1003.2%Systemic locations9,9007.8%Non-physical locations11,7009.2%Unspecified locations6000.5%Work-related injury and illness – Claims by OccupationSerious Claims by Occupation, 2021-22p Serious Claims by Occupation 2021-22p Major groupClaims (count)Claims (%)Frequency rateIncidence rateLabourers34,90027.5%24.833.4Community and personal service workers27,50021.7%15.619.5Machinery operators and drivers16,20012.8%11.521.2Technicians and trades workers20,00015.8%7.413.3Sales workers4,2003.3%3.13.9Professionals13,90010.9%2.54.2Clerical and administrative workers4,8003.7%1.82.7Managers5,4004.3%1.83.5The Serious claims frequency rate was highest for persons employed as Labourers (24.8 claims per million hours worked), followed by Community and personal service workers (15.6), Machinery operators and drivers (11.5), and Technicians and trades workers (7.4). Frequency rates in the remaining four occupational groups were markedly lower by comparison, all with less than four serious claims per million hours worked.The occupations which accounted for the most serious claims in 2021-22p were Labourers (34,900), Community and personal service workers (27,500), Technicians and trades workers (20,000), and Machinery operators and drivers (16,200).Together these four occupational groups accounted for over three quarters (77.7%) of serious claims in 2021‑22p, despite representing only 38.2% of workers.Work-related injury and illness – Claims by IndustrySerious Claims by Industry, 2021‑22p The Serious claims frequency rate was highest for persons employed in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (10.9 serious claims per million hours worked), followed by Construction (9.8), and Public administration and safety (9.8).These three industries accounted for 25.3% of serious claims in 2021-22p despite representing only 14.6% of workers. Serious Claims by Industry 2021‑22pDivisionClaims (count)Claims (%)Frequency rateIncidence rateAgriculture, forestry and fishing3,9003.0%10.920.8Construction15,60012.2%9.818.6Public administration and safety12,80010.1%9.816.5Arts and recreation services2,5002.0%9.712.3Transport, postal and warehousing9,5007.4%9.316.5Manufacturing13,80010.8%9.316.9Health care and social assistance24,10018.9%8.812.5Wholesale trade4,7003.7%7.814.0Accommodation and food services6,9005.4%6.97.9Mining2,7002.2%6.513.7Retail trade9,2007.2%5.47.2Electricity, gas, water and waste services1,3001.0%5.310.1Education and training8,1006.4%4.97.4Other services3,3002.6%4.97.9Administrative and support services5,0003.9%3.96.5Rental, hiring and real estate services1,2000.9%3.35.9Information media and telecommunications6000.5%1.93.3Professional, scientific and technical services2,0001.5%1.01.8Financial and insurance services5000.4%0.61.0The industries which accounted for the most serious claims in 2021-22p were Health care and social assistance (24,100), Construction (15,600), Manufacturing (13,800), Public administration and safety (12,800), and Transport, postal and warehousing (9,500).Endnotesi Claims counts in detailed tables may not sum to overall reported total as some records have ‘other’ or missing values for descriptive variables.ii ‘Mental health claims’ are defined as claims codded to the Nature of injury/diseases Major group ‘Mental health conditions’.iii COVID-19 claims are defined as claims where the Nature of injury/disease was coded as 855 ‘Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)’. Resources Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia, 2023 (PDF)
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