Safe Work Australia Releases Report on Work-Related Deaths

Safe Work Australia Chair, Tom Phillips, released the report, Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities Australia 2007-08, in December. The report, is the fifth in a series that estimates the number of workers and bystanders killed each year due to work-related injuries.

Mr Phillips said that the report was a comprehensive source of information on work-related fatalities across Australia for the financial year, despite the fact not all deaths are always reported.

“By publishing data from a range of data sources, Safe Work Australia demonstrates a commitment to providing the most accurate information to improve workplace safety,” Mr Phillips said.

Key findings of the report include:

• A total of 442 work-related traumatic injury fatalities occurred in Australia during 2007–08, a six per cent decrease from the 2006–07 total of 469, but above the five year average of 439.
• Of the 442 people who died of work-related injuries, 289 people were injured at work; 98 people died while commuting to or from work and 55 bystanders died as a result of someone else’s work activity.
• Deaths in all three categories above were lower than in 2006–07, with fatalities due to commuting reaching a five year low.

Figures published in the report are from three datasets collected from the National Data Set for Compensation-based Statistics, the Notified Fatalities Collection and the National Coroners Information System.

Mr Phillips said safety should be the number one priority in all workplaces.

“All Australians need to focus on safety in the workplace and undertake measures to
improve safety standards,” he said.

“Any work-related death is one too many. The release of this report shows that while we are making progress in some areas, more can be done to ensure safer workplaces for all Australians.”

A copy of the full report is available here:http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/AboutSafeWorkAustralia/WhatWeDo/Publications/Pages/Work-relatedFatalities07-08.aspx

Thursday 13 January 2011
Safe to Work