General Industry Statistics

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Did you know…

• 10% of workers compensation claims were due to diseases
• 90% of workers compensation claims were due to injury and musculoskeletal disorders
• There were 107,355 serious workers compensation claims in 2014-2015 in Australia
• Between 2000–01 and 2013–14, the median compensation paid for a serious claim rose by 94 per cent from $5,200 to $10,100 Between 2000–01 and 2013–14, the median time lost for a serious claim rose by 33 per cent from 4.2 working weeks to 5.6. In 2013–14, the median time lost for a serious claim was 5.4 working weeks for male employees and 6.0 working weeks for female employees.
• $61.8 billion, the cost of work-related injury and disease to the Australian economy
• 77% of work-related injury and disease costs are borne by workers
• 205 fatalities nationally each year; 36% vehicle incidents, 13% falls from height, and 21% of fatalities were truck drivers
• 115, 400 serious workers’ compensation claims made each year; 16% of which were as a result of muscular stress while lifting, carrying, and handling objects; and 29% of serious claims were made by labourers
• In WA, 30 workers are killed each year; where vehicle incidents account for 35%, 12% are hit by falling objects, and more than 1/3 are workers aged 35 and under
• 12, 700 serious claims are made each year, where 22% are due to muscular stress while handling objects, 17% are due to falls on the same level, and 14% due to muscular stress while lifting and carrying objects
• Eight work-related traumatic injury fatalities were recorded during the five years from 2011-12 to 2015-16 in relation to falls from a height
• During 2011-12 a total of 121 459 days were lost from work due to falls from heights at an estimated cost of $71 732 509. Figures have fallen to 117 608 days lost from work at an estimated cost of $63 865 610 in 2015-16p – this equates to around 107 days lost per LTI/D at an estimated cost of $58 325 (where LTI/Ds refer to lost time injuries and diseases where one or more days/shifts have been lost from work as a result of a workplace incident)
• Knees, ankles, shoulders and lower back continue to be the areas of the body most affected by Falls from a height LTI/Ds
• A total number of 248 258 days were lost during 2015-16p at an estimated cost of $138 949 830 which equates to around 86 days lost per LTI/D at an estimated cost of $47 881. Compared to 2011-12, these figures have risen by seven days lost and by an extra $6 383 per LTI/D
• The age group responsible for the greatest proportion of LTI/Ds for the mechanism Falls on the same level during 2015-16p is the 45-54 age group (26% or 749 LTI/Ds). Over the five-year reporting period, this age group accounted for 27% (or 3 936 LTI/Ds) of injuries from Falls on the same level
• Body stressing remains the most common cause of injury in Australia, where these injuries accounted for more than a third (37.6%) of all LTI/Ds in Western Australia during 2015-16p (6 357 LTI/Ds)
• Muscular stress while handling objects other than lifting, carrying or putting down LTI/Ds decreased 11.8% during 2015-16p compared to 2011-12 (from 3 836 to 3 382 incidences) while Muscular stress while lifting, carrying or putting down objects LTI/Ds fell 13.8% (from 2 517 in 2011-12 to 2 169 in 2015-16p)
• During the five years from 2011-12 to 2015-16p, no work-related traumatic injury fatalities were recorded for the mechanism of incident group Chemical and Other Substances
• Diseases related to hazardous substances may have a long latency period and may not become evident until after a worker leaves the workforce
• Preventive health surveillance and air monitoring work reduces the likelihood of workers developing diseases
• 73% of trips and falls are caused by inattentiveness and distraction
• Work-related injury and disease cost the Australian community $61.8 billion in a year
• Workers forget up to 50% of what they learn in employee training sessions within an hour without revisiting the material; within a day that grows to 70%, and within a month it goes up to 90%
• 43% of serious injuries involve traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injury
• The median amount of compensation paid for a serious claim is $10,800

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