More workers injured on the job received workers compensation in 2021-22 than in 2017-18, according to a report from Safe Work Australia (SWA)
Releasing its Analysis of ABS Work-related injuries survey data, 2021-22 report, SWA said the report compared survey data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) with SWA’s National dataset for compensation-based statistics and findings from its Safer, healthier, wealthier research.
“The report delves deeper into the ABS data to unpack trends over time, identify and describe important findings beyond the key figures on the ABS website, and provide a more complete picture of work-related injuries that occur in the labour market,” SWA said.
It said the report found that in 2021-22, 497,300 (3.5 per cent) of the working population experienced a work-related injury or illness, down from 4.2 per cent in 2017-18.
Safe Work said its National dataset for compensation-based statistics for 2020-21 showed the frequency rate of serious claims exhibited a long-term decreasing trend, with a recent period of successive increases since 2017-18.
“The overall work-related injury rate was 35.3 injuries per 1,000 people who worked in the past 12 months,” SWA said.
“For workers who experienced a work-related injury or illness in 2021-22, 31 per cent received workers compensation for the injury or illness, an increase from 27 per cent in 2017-18,” it said.
“Safe Work Australia data shows that serious workers’ compensation claims in 2020-21 resulted in a total loss of 1.9 million weeks of work.”
It said that in 2021-22, the injury rate was highest for people aged 55 to 59 (47.1 per 1,000 people) and lowest for people aged 65 years and over (25 per 1,000 people).
Safe Work’s 15-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
