Safe Work Australia has released its key work health and safety statistics for Australia in 2021 with fatalities halved since 2007 across all industries.
Safe Work Australia (SWA) is an Australian Government statutory body established in 2008 to ensure the health and safety of Australian workers.
For this reason it releases an annual report for industries to understand where they stand and where they can improve on safety.
“Understanding the causes of injury and the industries most affected can help reduce work-related fatalities, injuries and disease,” the body said in a statement about the 2021 statistics.
Mining suffered five fatalities according to the report, ranking equal seventh behind the likes of agriculture, transport, construction and manufacturing.
This statistic represented a fatality rate of 2.1 per 100,000 workers.
The number of serious claims for injury or disease reported in the mining industry was 2555.
At a rate of 5.1 serious claims per million hours worked, this placed mining equal 12th out of 19 industries – bettered only by ‘education’, ‘electricity, gas, water and waste services’, ‘rental and real estate’, ‘information media’, ‘professional and scientific services’, and ‘financial services’.
As summer approaches Australia, SWA has also released new guidance material on managing the risks of working in heat.
“The new guidance reflects changes made to the recommended first aid for heat stroke,” SWA stated.
“This guide provides practical guidance for a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) on how to manage the risks associated with working in heat, including information on first aid for heat-related illnesses that reflects updated medical advice.”
Visit Safe Work Australia’s website to learn more.
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