Work related fatalities in 2019

Safe Work Australia has released the Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities Australia 2019 report, which provides the latest detailed national statistics on all workers and bystanders fatally injured at work. The 2019 work related fatalities report shows that over the last decade, the number and rate of work related fatalities have been gradually decreasing.

In 2007, the fatality rate was 3.0 fatalities per 100,000 workers. In 2019, this rate has decreased by 53% to 1.4 fatalities per 100,000 workers. The number of work-related fatalities recorded in 2018 represented an unusual decrease compared to the longer-term trends in fatality numbers.

While the number of work-related fatalities has been steadily decreasing over the last decade, any workplace death is tragic and unacceptable.

Understanding the causes of injury and the industries most affected can help reduce work-related fatalities.

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The report shows that in 2019 62% of worker fatalities occurred in the following industries:

Transport, postal and warehousing (58 fatalities)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (30 fatalities)
Construction (26 fatalities).

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The most common causes of worker fatalities in 2019 were:Vehicle collisions (43%)Falls from a height (11%)Hit by falling objects (11%).

The report and data is drawn from a range of sources, including reporting of fatalities in the media, notifications from jurisdictional authorities, and the National Coronial Information System.

This report provides complements and provides additional detail to the Key Work Health and Safety Statistics published on 12 October 2020.

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