16 Nov Safe Work Australia – Work-related fatalities in 2021

This is a blog from Safe Work Australia which outlines the Work-related fatalities in 2021.

Safe Work Australia has published the Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities Australia report, which provides the latest detailed national statistics on workers and bystanders who were fatally injured at work.   Tragically, 169 people were fatally injured at work in 2021. While the rate of work-related fatalities has decreased 35% over the last decade and 57% since the peak in 2007, any workplace death is unacceptable. Understanding the causes of injury and the industries most affected can help reduce work-related fatalities. The report details that almost two-thirds (64%) of worker fatalities occurred in the following industries: Transport, postal and warehousing (52 fatalities)Agriculture, forestry and fishing (33 fatalities)Construction (24 fatalities) The most common causes of worker fatalities were: Vehicle collisions (38%)Being hit by moving objects (14%)Falls from a height (11%) 7 out of 10 fatalities involved a vehicle in 2021. This means that a vehicle was principally involved in the incident leading to a worker fatality and includes collisions and being hit by moving objects. Vehicles include not only road vehicles such as cars and trucks, but also machines such as aircraft, boats, loaders, tractors and quad bikes. Of these fatalities, 66% were single vehicle accidents. This report complements and provides additional detail to the Key Work Health and Safety Statistics published on 7 November.