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Safe Work Australia compiles the Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities data set 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 Explanatory notes for Safe Work Australia datasets.
This document provides statistics about people who die each year from an injury sustained in the course of a work activity (worker fatalities) in Australian territories or territorial seas.
Trends in worker fatalities, 2003 to 2019
Worker fatalities by gender, 2019
Worker fatalities by age group, 2019
| Age group (years) | Number of fatalities | Fatality rate (fatalities per 100,000 workers) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | 13 | 0.7 |
| 25-34 | 26 | 0.8 |
| 35-44 | 31 | 1.1 |
| 45-54 | 33 | 1.3 |
| 55-64 | 48 | 2.5 |
| 65 and over | 32 | 5.4 |
| Total | 183 | 1.4 |
Worker fatalities by state/territory, 2019*
*fatalities are presented according to the state or territory where the fatality occurred, not the jurisdiction under which the fatality fell.
Worker fatalities by mechanism of incident, 2019
Note:
- only mechanisms accounting for 5% or more of fatalities are included. The remaining mechanisms are grouped together under other mechanisms.
- the percentages shown in this table have been rounded to the nearest whole number; therefore the sum of percentage figures for each column may not equal the total.
| Mechanism of incident | Number of fatalities | % of injury fatalities |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle collision* | 79 | 43% |
| Falls from a height | 21 | 11% |
| Being hit by falling objects | 21 | 11% |
| Being hit by moving objects | 13 | 7% |
| Being trapped by moving machinery | 10 | 5% |
| Being trapped between stationary and moving objects | 9 | 5% |
| Other mechanisms | 30 | 16% |
| Total | 183 | 100% |
*vehicle collisions include fatalities that occurred as a direct result of a vehicle crash. Vehicles include not only road vehicles such as cars and trucks, but also machines such as aircraft, boats, loaders, tractors and quad bikes.
Worker fatalities by occupation, 2019
| Occupation | Number of fatalities | Fatality rate (fatalities per 100,000 workers) |
|---|---|---|
| Machinery Operators and Drivers | 72 | 8.3 |
| Labourers | 29 | 2.3 |
| Managers | 25 | 1.6 |
| Technicians and Trades Workers | 28 | 1.5 |
| Community and Personal Service Workers | 17 | 1.2 |
| Professionals | 9 | 0.3 |
| Clerical and Administrative Workers | 2 | 0.1 |
| Sales Workers | 1 | 0.1 |
| Total | 183 | 1.4 |
Worker fatalities by industry, 2019
| Industry of employer | Number of fatalities | Fatality rate (fatalities per 100,000 workers) |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry & fishing | 30 | 9.1 |
| Transport, postal & warehousing | 58 | 8.7 |
| Electricity, gas, water & waste services | 6 | 3.8 |
| Mining | 7 | 2.9 |
| Construction | 26 | 2.2 |
| Arts & recreation services | 5 | 2.0 |
| Wholesale trade | 7 | 1.8 |
| Administrative & support services | 7 | 1.5 |
| Manufacturing | 13 | 1.5 |
| Public administration & safety | 12 | 1.3 |
| Other Services | 5 | 1.0 |
| Rental, hiring & real estate services | 1 | 0.5 |
| Accommodation & food services | 2 | 0.2 |
| Education & training | 2 | 0.2 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 1 | 0.1 |
| Health care & social assistance | 1 | 0.1 |
| Financial & insurance services | 0 | 0.0 |
| Information media & telecommunications | 0 | 0.0 |
| Retail trade | 0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 183 | 1.4 |
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