Safe Work Month in October

October is National Safe Work Month, when Safe Work Australia (SWA) invites business owners, employers, and workers nationwide to commit to building safe and healthy workplaces.

SWA preliminary data shows that around 163 people died while doing their job in the past year. And approximately 120,300 people made a workers’ compensation claim for serious injury or illness in 2019–20.

Under the theme of “Know work, work safely”, SWA activities and resources will focus on a different health and safety area each week throughout October. The four themes include: injuries at work, mental health, managing WHS risks and preventing harm, and safe and healthy work for all.  

Participants can host a SafeTea event at their workplace, with resources provided by SWA. Aimed at promoting conversations about health and safety at work, organisers compare the daily ritual of having a cuppa at morning tea to the everyday implementation of safe work practices.

According to SWA’s data, Australia’s workplace fatality rate has decreased by 50 per cent from a peak in 2007. And in 2020, of the total 194 work fatalities, 186 were men and eight were women.

The most likely cause of death at work is vehicle collision (41 per cent), being hit by moving objects (13 per cent), falls from a height (11 per cent), being hit by falling objects (9 per cent) and being trapped by moving machinery (7 per cent).

Among the most dangerous occupations for work fatalities were machinery operators and drivers, with 67 fatalities in 2020. There were 41 fatalities among labourers, and 26 deaths among technicians and trades workers.

In 2019–20, technicians and trade workers made up 19 per cent of serious workplace injury claims, with labourers at 24 per cent, and machinery operators and drivers at 14 per cent.

By industry, construction made up 13 per cent of all serious claims. However, the frequency of serious claims in Australia has decreased by 23 per cent from 2009–10 to 2018–19.

For more information and resources, visit the Safe Work Australia website.

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