Which states had the highest fatality rates?
Australia recorded a total of 200 deaths resulting from workplace incidents in 2023, according to the latest data from Safe Work.
The overall fatalities were five per cent higher than the five-year average of 191 workers per year, but the fatality rate was consistent with the five-year average of 1.4 deaths per 100,000 workers.
"All workers have the right to a healthy and safe working environment and any workplace death is unacceptable," said Marie Boland, Safe Work Australia CEO, in a statement.
"While Australia compares favourably to the rest of the world, the fact that 200 people did not come home from work in 2023 reminds us that we cannot afford to be complacent."
Source: Safe Work Australia
Workplace fatalities data
According to Safe Work, 189 of the worker fatalities were male, while 10 were female.
New South Wales saw the highest number of fatalities across Australia, with 60. Other states that saw double-digit deaths include Queensland (51), Victoria (37), Western Australia (27), and South Australia (27).
By industry, the highest fatality count was recorded in Transport, Postal, and Warehousing (51); followed by Construction (45); and then Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (27).
Vehicle-related incidents accounted for nearly half (42%) of the workplace fatalities in 2023, according to the report.
This is followed by falls from a height (15%) and being hit by moving objects (12%).
Source: Safe Work Australia
Work-related injury rate
Meanwhile, Australia's current work-related injury rate is at 3.5%, roughly one-third of the global rate of 12.1%, according to Safe Work.
There were 139,000 serious workers' compensation claims in Australia, with nearly a third (32.7%) due to body stressing.
Source: Safe Work Australia
According to the report, mental health conditions saw a significant increase of 19.2% from the 2021-22 period, and a 97.3% increase compared with 10 years ago.
"The data reinforces the importance of a strong legislative framework to protect workers and others and serves as a call to action for everyone who has work health and safety obligations and all of us in work health and safety roles," Boland said.
Safe Work released last year a 10-year strategy that seeks to curb the number of workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses over the next decade.
