Useful resources
- Work-related traumatic injury fatalities
- Incidence rates and frequency rates of serious claims by industry, 2000–01 to 2013–14
- Construction statistics
- Work Health and Safety Perceptions: Construction Industry
- Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012–2022
- Australian Strategy national priority industries
Some solutions
- Preventing Falls In Housing Construction
- Principles of good work design
- Safety solutions, injury hotspots
- Safe Work Australia – construction safety information
- Model Code of Practice – Construction Work
- Model Code of Practice – Demolition Work
- Model Code of Practice – Excavation Work
- Safe design of structures
- Making the voids safe in house construction
- Construction: work design in complex supply chains
- Young workers’ safety in the construction industry
- Infographic: hotspots in the construction industry
- Good planning comes first
Data from the infographic
Construction fatalities
A total of 182 construction workers were killed in the five years from 2008–09 to 2012–13
Industry Sub-sector | Number of workers killed |
---|---|
Construction services | 123 |
Heavy and civil engineering construction | 30 |
Building construction | 29 |
The most common mechanisms that caused fatalities were:
- Falls from heights
- Vehicle incidents
- Being hit by moving or falling objects
- Contact with electricity
Construction serious injuries
A total of 63,230 serious injuries were reported in the five years from 2008–9 to 2012–13. The most common types of injury were:
- Joint/ligament, muscle/tendon
- Fractures
- Wounds, lacerations, amputations, internal organ damage
The following table shows the main causes of serious injuries
Cause of injury | Number of serious injuries |
---|---|
Body stressing | 23 340 |
Slips, trips and falls | 17 660 |
Hit by moving objects | 10 660 |
Hitting objects with part of the body | 6310 |
Falls from heights fatalities
A total of 48 construction workers were killed by falls from heights in the five years from 2008-9 to 2012-13. The most at risk construction occupations for falls from heights fatalities were:
- Painting and decorating
- Roofing
- Plumbing
- Housing construction
The following table shows the main types of falls and numbers of workers killed:
Industry Sub-sector | Number of workers killed |
---|---|
Falls from buildings or other structures | 20 |
Falls from ladders | 12 |
Falls from scaffolding | 5 |
Can't find what you're looking for?
Share this page: