This page provides statistics on worker fatalities by the state or territory where the death occurred.
- The most populous states accounted for the majority of fatalities over the last 10 years. New South Wales accounted for 29% of worker fatalities followed by Queensland with 25%, and Victoria with 19%.
- In 2016, 53 workers were killed in New South Wales, 45 in Queensland, 31 in Victoria and 20 in Western Australia.
Table 1: Worker fatalities: number by state/territory of death, 2003 and 2012-2016 (sorted by 2016 fatalities)
| State/Territory | 2003 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | % of 2016 | 10yr average (2007-2016) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 85 | 83 | 54 | 58 | 62 | 53 | 29% | 29% |
| Queensland | 57 | 57 | 54 | 50 | 51 | 45 | 25% | 25% |
| Victoria | 54 | 35 | 33 | 42 | 38 | 31 | 17% | 19% |
| South Australia | 13 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 12% | 6% |
| Western Australia | 28 | 25 | 33 | 25 | 43 | 20 | 11% | 14% |
| Tasmania | 17 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3% | 4% |
| Northern Territory | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3% | 3% |
| Australian Capital Territory | 1 | 3 | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | 1% | 0% |
| Total | 259 | 231 | 202 | 197 | 211 | 182 | 100% | 100% |
Table 2: Worker fatalities: fatality rate by state/territory of death, 2003 and 2012 to 2016
| State/Territory | 2003 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 10yr average (2007-2016) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 2.7 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.9 |
| Queensland | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| Victoria | 2.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| South Australia | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| Western Australia | 2.9 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 2.6 |
| Tasmania | 8.2 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.6 |
| Northern Territory | 4.1 | 7.1 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 3.8 | 4.9 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Total | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.1 |
Over the 10 years from 2007 to 2016, Transport, postal and warehousing accounted for the largest number of fatalities in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, whereas Agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for the most fatalities in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
Table 3: Worker fatalities: number by state/territory of death and the industries with the highest number of fatalities, 2007 to 2016 combined
| Industry | New South Wales | Queensland | Victoria | Western Australia | South Australia | Tasmania | Northern Territory | Total* (2007-2016) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 141 | 143 | 113 | 60 | 40 | 34 | 23 | 554 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 169 | 146 | 105 | 75 | 32 | 11 | 14 | 553 |
| Construction | 100 | 99 | 70 | 40 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 354 |
| Manufacturing | 62 | 42 | 34 | 38 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 190 |
| Administrative and support services | 23 | 21 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 85 |
| Mining | 15 | 19 | 7 | 32 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 85 |
| Public administration and safety | 22 | 20 | 17 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 82 |
| Wholesale trade | 24 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 5 | .. | 1 | 61 |
| Arts and recreation services | 20 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 3 | .. | 2 | 59 |
| Retail trade | 23 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 58 |
| Other industries | 68 | 53 | 52 | 39 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 248 |
| Total | 667 | 591 | 442 | 322 | 151 | 85 | 61 | 2,329 |
* includes Australian Capital Territory.
Table 4: Worker fatalities: percentage by state/territory of incident and the industries with the highest number of fatalities, 2007 to 2016 combined
| Industry | New South Wales | Queensland | Victoria | Western Australia | South Australia | Tasmania | Northern Territory | Total* (2007-2016) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 21% | 24% | 26% | 19% | 26% | 40% | 38% | 24% |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 25% | 25% | 24% | 23% | 21% | 13% | 23% | 24% |
| Construction | 15% | 17% | 16% | 12% | 17% | 13% | 8% | 15% |
| Manufacturing | 9% | 7% | 8% | 12% | 5% | 7% | 2% | 8% |
| Administrative and support services | 3% | 4% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 1% | 3% | 4% |
| Mining | 2% | 3% | 2% | 10% | 5% | 4% | 2% | 4% |
| Public administration and safety | 3% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 4% | 7% | 3% | 4% |
| Wholesale trade | 4% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| Arts and recreation services | 3% | 4% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| Retail trade | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 5% | 3% | 2% |
| Other industries | 10% | 9% | 12% | 12% | 10% | 11% | 13% | 11% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
* includes Australian Capital Territory.
** Note: 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.