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Health Risk Factors: Work-related injuries
Work-related injuries In September 2000, close to 478,000 people had experienced at least one work-related injury or illness in the previous 12 months. They made up 5% of people aged 15 years and over who had worked in that period. Not all of the injuries resulted in time being taken off work or in an application for workers' compensation. About 64% of those injured took at least part of a day off work and about 40% received workers' compensation. More than twice as many men as women had experienced a work-related injury (324,000 compared with 154,000). There are more men in the workforce, so a higher number of work-related injuries is expected. However, the difference was mostly due to their higher rate of injury - 60 per 1,000 of men who had worked in the previous 12 months, compared with 36 per 1,000 for women. The greater tendency for men to have hazardous occupations is likely to explain much of this difference in overall rates of injury for men and women. INJURED WORKERS(a) - 2000
Source: Work-related injuries, Australia, September 2000 (ABS cat. No. 6324.0). Occupation The highest numbers and rates of injury were observed for occupations which are likely to involve physical labour. The highest rates of injury were experienced by Intermediate production and transport workers (95 per 1,000 workers), a group that includes plant and machine operators and road and rail drivers. The rate for Labourers and related workers was almost as high (93 per 1,000 workers). This group includes factory hands and cleaners as well as labourers in construction, mining and similar fields. Tradespersons and related workers (78 per 1,000 workers) ranked third. Together, these three occupation groups accounted for 52% of all those who had experienced a work-related injury in the previous 12 months. The injury rates for other occupations ranged from 13 per 1,000 for Advanced clerical and service workers (which encompasses occupations such as bookkeepers and insurance agents) to 45 per 1,000 for Associate professionals (a group which includes enrolled nurses, medical and science technical officers, and managing supervisors in sales, hospitality and accommodation, and other occupations). The majority of injured Tradespersons and related workers, Labourers and related workers and Intermediate production and transport workers were men (86% of these three occupation groups combined). This was mostly because many more men than women were employed in these occupations (men made up 81% of workers in the three combined). In the case of Tradespersons and related workers and Labourers and related workers (but not Intermediate production and transport workers), there were also considerably higher rates of injury for men than women. It is difficult to make a direct comparison of men and women's injury rates using broad occupation groups because men and women tend to have different occupations within these groups, and these occupations may be associated with different injury risks. For example, in 2000 the largest single group of female Tradespersons and related workers were Food tradespersons (24%), while the largest single group of male Tradespersons and related workers were Construction tradespersons (26%). The most common broad occupation groups for women who had experienced a work-related injury in the previous 12 months were Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers (42,100), Professionals (31,000) and Labourers (22,000). The highest rates were observed for Intermediate production and transport workers (91 per 1,000 workers) and Labourers and related workers (67 per 1,000). INJURED WORKERS(a): OCCUPATION - 2000
(b) Occupation of job in which most recent work-related injury or illness occurred. Source: ABS 2000 Work-related Injuries Survey. Industry The industries accounting for the largest numbers of injured workers were Manufacturing (91,800), Retail trade (54,100), Health and community services (52,900), Construction (49,100) and Transport and storage (32,700). The large number of people who had experienced an injury in these industries was partly due to the size of their workforces. That said, three of these groups also had relatively high injury rates (ranking among the top five). Mining, which has relatively few employees, and accounted for 7,000 of those injured, had the highest injury rate, 89 per 1,000 workers. Manufacturing (81 per 1,000 ), Transport and storage (80 per 1,000) and Construction (70 per 1,000) ranked next, followed by the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (66 per 1,000). Within most industries men had a higher rate of injury than women. This is consistent with the different occupations that men and women tend to have within industries. INJURED WORKERS(a): INDUSTRY - 2000
(b) Industry of job in which most recent work-related injury or illness occurred. Source: ABS 2000 Work-related Injuries Survey. Time off work and workers' compensation Loss of income due to time off work is one of the main expenses a person with a work-related injury can incur, and for which they may be eligible to make a workers' compensation claim. In Victoria, a person with a temporary condition must be off work for more than 10 days before workers' compensation might be available (for shorter times off due to work-related injury, the employer is expected to pay). In other States, there is no minimum time off work before workers' compensation would apply. Consistent with many injuries being minor, 36% of the 477,800 injured workers in 2000 took no time off work, and more than half did not apply for workers' compensation (54%). The proportion who applied for workers' compensation increased with the amount of time taken off work - from 22% of those who took no time off work to 70% of those who took 10 days or more. Of those who applied, most received workers' compensation (87%). INJURED WORKERS(a): TIME TAKEN OFF WORK - 2000 (a) Injured in the 12 months to September 2000. Source: Work-related injuries, Australia, September 2000 (ABS cat. no. 6324.0). The leading reasons given for not applying for workers' compensation varied according to length of time off work. Among those who took from no time to less than 5 days off work, the leading reason was that workers' compensation was not necessary, or that the injury was minor (58%). The next most common reasons were not being covered by workers' compensation, or not being aware of coverage (11%) and not being eligible for workers' compensation for the injury (6%). In contrast, among those who took 5 days or more off work the leading reason was not being covered by workers' compensation, or not being aware of coverage (28%), followed by not being eligible for workers' compensation for the injury (18%). The minor nature of the injury, or workers' compensation not being necessary, ranked third (14%). INJURED WORKERS(a): WHETHER RECEIVED WORKERS' COMPENSATION - 2000
Source: Work-related injuries, Australia, September 2000 (ABS cat. no. 6324.0). Who applied? Workers' compensation regulations are directed at those who work for others, including those in indirect relationships such as subcontractors, rather than at the self-employed. Therefore it is not surprising that own account workers and employers who were injured were much less likely to apply for workers’ compensation than were employees. (Less than 10% of injured own account workers and employers applied compared with 50% of employees). Nevertheless, employees predominate in the workforce and so the great majority of those who did not apply for compensation were in fact employees (82%). Part-time workers were somewhat less likely to apply than were full-time workers (39% applied compared with 47%). Employees without leave entitlements were less likely to apply than employees with leave entitlements (37% compared with 54%). The likelihood of applying for compensation also varied according to occupation. Intermediate production and transport workers were the group most likely to apply (60%), followed by Labourers (54%), while Managers and administrators were the least likely to apply(20%). INJURED WORKERS(a): PROPORTION WHO APPLIED FOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND TIME TAKEN OFF WORK - 2000 (a) Injured in the 12 months to September 2000. Source: Work-related injuries, Australia, September 2000 (ABS cat. no. 6324.0). PERSONS WHO HAD EXPERIENCED A WORK-RELATED INJURY(a): WHETHER APPLIED FOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION - 2000
(b) Characteristics of the job in which the person's most recent work-related injury occurred. Source: Work-related injuries, Australia, September 2000 (ABS cat. no. 6324.0). Other assistance Medical bills and loss of earnings while ill are the two most common costs faced by a person who sustains a work-related injury or illness. As well as workers’ compensation schemes, many people with a work-related injury or illness accessed some other types of financial assistance. The most commonly used types of assistance were regular sick leave funded by the employer, and Medicare benefits, each used by 14% of all those who had experienced a work-related injury in the previous 12 months. Other types of assistance accessed were employer payments other than paid sick leave (7%), private health insurance (4%), income protection insurance (2%) and social security (2%). A total of 152,400 people (32% of those who experienced a work-related illness or injury in the previous 12 months) received neither workers' compensation nor any other financial assistance. Of these, 67% took no time off work. Endnotes 1 National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, NOHSC: Work-related Fatalities in Australia, 1989-1992, <URL:NOHSC.gov.au/statistics/ fatalities/Work-related Fatalities Reports> (accessed 27 February 2002). 2 National Occupational Health and Safety Commission 2002, National Online Statistical Information (NOSI) database, <URL:NOHSC.info.au.com/> (accessed 18 March 2002).
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