Where can I find information on work-related injuries and diseases?
The Compendium of Workers’ Compensation Statistics provides a general overview of compensated work-related injury and disease among employees in Australia. Each edition includes a section showing trends over time.
The Statistics online database allows users to run detailed cross tabulations on all the standard variables used in the National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics (NDS). The database includes serious claims lodged from 1997–98 to the most recent year available.
Where can I find information on work-related fatalities?
The annual Notified Fatalities Statistical Report provide recent information on work-related fatalities reported by jurisdictional work health and safety authorities to Safe Work Australia. This collection covers all workers, however deaths due to diseases, suicides and natural causes are excluded.
The annual Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities, Australia report combines fatalities information from workers’ compensation data with the Notified Fatality collection and the National Coroners’ Information System to determine the number of work-related fatalities due to injury (diseases, suicides and deaths due to natural causes are excluded). The report also includes deaths while travelling to or from work (commuting) and to bystanders killed as the result of work activity.
The Compendium of Workers’ Compensation Statistics presents a detailed analysis of compensated fatalities for the most recent preliminary data.
The report Mesothelioma in Australia highlights the most recently available data on the incidence of mesothelioma and resulting deaths.
Why do Safe Work Australia publications differ in the number of deaths for the same year?
Each of our data sources capture information on different population groups. Workers’ compensation schemes mainly cover employees and hence fatalities to self-employed workers are generally not included in workers’ compensation data. The workers’ compensation data also only include accepted claims lodged in a particular year. More claims can be accepted after the initial data supply and hence updates can be made to a particular year. In addition, compensation claims for fatalities can only be made where there are dependents to do so. Workers’ compensation data includes work-related injuries and illness.
While the Notified Fatalities Statistical Report only captures information on work-related injury fatalities, it includes all workers, including bystanders (such as visitors to a worksite), but excluding fatalities that occurred while travelling to or from work, suicides and deaths due to natural causes. Data in this publication is known to understate deaths due to vehicle accidents on public roads which are generally notified to the police rather than the work health and safety authority.
Figures reported in Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities, Australia are based on workers’ compensation data, the Notified Fatalities collection, and the National Coroners’ Information System. These multiple sources make this report the most comprehensive data on work-related injury fatalities suffered by workers, bystanders and those travelling to and from work. However, it does not include information on deaths resulting from work-related disease.
Where can I find information on work-related injuries in a particular industry?
Basic information on Safe Work Australia’s priority industries is available in fact sheets, these are: Agriculture, forestry and fishing; Construction; Health and Community services; Manufacturing; Transport and storage. A fact sheet is also available for the Mining industry.
The Compendium of Workers’ Compensation Statistics includes a section that profiles the priority industries in more detail.
What is the cost of work-related injury and disease?
The total economic cost to workers, employers and the community of work-related injury and disease to the Australian economy was $57.5 billion in 2005–06. This is equivalent to 5.9% of GDP.
Where can I find information on workers’ compensation schemes and OHS policy?
The Comparative Performance Monitoring Report compares key workers’ compensation indicators from New Zealand and Australian jurisdictions.
The Comparison of Workers’ Compensation Arrangements in Australia and New Zealand report provides detailed comparisons of the workers’ compensation schemes in each jurisdiction.
The Comparison of Occupational Health and Safety Arrangements in Australia and New Zealand publication outlines the different jurisdictional approaches to workplace health and safety.
Where can I find out more about the classification systems used in workers’ compensation statistics?
Workers’ compensation statistics are supplied to Safe Work Australia using the National Dataset for Compensation Based Statistics.
Detailed information about the type and circumstances of a compensated work-related injury or disease is currently coded using the Type of Occurrence Classification System (TOOCS). The TOOCS coding system allows the classification of the nature of the injury or disease; the bodily location of the injury or disease; the mechanism of the injury or disease; and the agency involved in the injury or disease.
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rates
Safe Work Australia is unable to supply the national number of lost-time injuries involving the loss of one day/shift or more from work. Instead Safe Work Australia publishes rates based on accepted workers’ compensation claims that involve the loss of one or more working weeks (termed serious claims). Please see the lost time injury frequency rates page for more information.