Report: 194 people were fatally injured at work in 2020

Safe Work Australia has released the Key Work Health and Safety Statistics report, which provides an overview of national work-related fatality data for 2020 and workers compensation claims data for 2019–20. Each year, Safe Work Australia produces national work health and safety statistics, providing important evidence on the state of work health and safety in Australia. Understanding the causes of injury and the industries most affected can help reduce work-related fatalities, injuries and disease.

The latest report revealed that 194 people were fatally injured at work in 2020, with vehicle collisions accounting for 41% of all 2020 worker fatalities. In 2020, 96% of worker fatalities were male; workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries had the highest worker fatality rate in 2020. Machinery operators and drivers had the highest number of fatalities by occupation (67 fatalities) in 2020. Pleasingly, the fatality rate of Australian workers has decreased by 50% since 2007.

There were a total of 120,355 serious workers compensation claims in Australia in 2019–20, marking an increase from 114,435 claims in 2018–19. Body stressing was the leading cause of serious workers compensation claims in 2019–20, accounting for 37% of all serious claims.

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