Australia’s workforce continues to grapple with alarming rates of illness and injury.
Safe Work Australia’s 2024 Key Work Health and Safety Statistics report also reveals an increase in workplace fatalities, with 200 workers fatally injured in 2023—a rise from 195 in 2022.
Commenting on the upwards trend, Marie Boland, CEO of Safe Work Australia (pictured above), emphasised the importance of maintaining safe work environments for every employee. “All workers have the right to a healthy and safe working environment and any workplace death is unacceptable,” she said.
Although Australia's current work-related injury rate stands at 3.5%, which is notably lower than the global average of 12.1%., Safe Work’s report found that a staggering 61% of serious workers’ compensation claims originated from just six industries: agriculture, forestry and fishing; public administration and safety; transport, postal and warehousing; manufacturing; health care and social assistance; and construction.
“While Australia compares favorably to the rest of the world, the fact that 200 people did not come home from work in 2023 reminds us that we cannot afford to be complacent,” Boland said.
Vehicle incidents also remain a leading contributor of worker deaths, accounting for 42% of fatalities, (84 deaths). Additionally, fatalities resulting from falls from heights saw a staggering 71% increase since 2022, rising from 17 to 29 fatalities.
Alongside accidents such as slips, trips, and falls, mental health issues are becoming a major concern in the Australian workplace. Claims for mental health conditions rose to 10.5% of all serious claims in 2023, highlighting the growing importance of accessible employee support services.
Safe Work’s report found that workers suffering from mental health issues experience median time lost from work that is more than five times longer than that recorded across all other injuries and diseases. The data indicates a worrying trend, with mental health claims increasing 19.2% compared to the previous year and showing a staggering 97.3% increase over the past decade.
Highlighting the urgent need for enhanced protections, Boland underscored the vital role of strong regulations in ensuring worker safety.
“This data reinforces the importance of a strong legislative framework to protect workers and others and serves as a call to action for everyone who has work health and safety obligations and all of us in work health and safety roles,” she said.
