07 Dec Safe Work Australia – Australian workers’ compensation statistics 2020-2021

Safe Work Australia has published the Australian workers’ compensation statistics 2020-21 report, which provides the latest national statistics on accepted serious workers’ compensation claims.

Key findings in 2020–21 include:

• There were 130,195 serious workers’ compensation claims.

• 13% of serious claims were for illness and diseases. Of these, mental health conditions were the most common.

The 3 occupations with the highest frequency rates of serious claims were:

1. labourers
2. community and personal service workers
3. machinery operators and drivers.

The 3 industries with the highest frequency rates of serious claims were:

1. agriculture, forestry and fishing
2. health care and social assistance, and
3. manufacturing.

87% of serious claims were for injuries. The 3 most common injury types were:

1. traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injuries (40% of all serious claims)
2. musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases (16%)
3. wounds, lacerations, amputations and internal organ damage (15%).

Key findings from the trend analysis to 2019–20 include:

• The number of serious claims fell 7% from 133,041 claims in 2000–01 to 122,801 claims in 2019–20.

• The median time lost for a serious claim was 7 working weeks. The median compensation paid was $15,100.

• While a relatively low proportion of claims relate to occupational violence, such injuries are on the rise. Serious claims for Being assaulted by a person or persons have more than doubled since 2000–01 (up by 177%).

The full report can be found here: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/australian-workers-compensation-statistics-2020-2021