Work-related injuries methodology

Work-related injuries data are classified according to the Type of Occurrence Classifications System (TOOCS) which was developed by SafeWork Australia for coding workers' compensation claims.

The work-related injury or illness classification used in this survey was based on the TOOCS nature of injury codes. The classification of how work-related injury or illness occurred was based on the TOOCS mechanism of injury codes.

Breaking of a bone, cartilage, etc.

Arthritis

Disorders of the joints

Disorders of the spinal vertebrae and inervertebral discs

Disorders of muscle, tendons and other soft tissues (e.g. Occupational Overuse Syndrome and Repetitive Strain Injury if this is the only description given)

Acquired musculoskeletal deformities (e.g. flat feet, mallet finger, hammer toe)

Sprains and strains of joints and adjacent muscles

Acute trauma sprains and strains

Sprains and strains of cartilage

Dislocations

Open wound not involving traumatic amputation (e.g. broken tooth, cuts, punctures, dog bites, tearing away of fingernail, serious wounds containing glass, metal or other foreign body)

Internal injury of chest, abdomen and pelvis

Injury with intact skin surface and crushing injury (e.g. bruises, haematomas)

Needle stick puncture

Abrasions, grazes, friction burns or blisters

Scratch injury from a foreign body in eye

Splinter or other foreign body in places other than eye

Stress

Anxiety

Depression

Nervous breakdown

Effects of witnessing traumatic events

Effects of involvement in a hold-up

Victim of harassment

Hyperventilation (hysterical, psychogenic)

Hysterical symptoms

Phobias

Obsessional and compulsive symptoms

Short term shock

Traumatic amputation including loss of eyeball

Electrical burns, chemical burns, cold burns, hot burns, friction burns, combination burn or burns not elsewhere classified

Responses that could not be included into one of the categories above such as asthma, cancer, concussion or heart attack

Muscular stress while lifting, carrying or putting down objects

Single or multiple events

Lifting or carrying resulting in stress fractures

Repetitive movement, high muscle loading

Muscular stress while handling objects

Single or multiple events

Pushing or pulling objects

Throwing or pressing objects

Stress fractures from handling objects

Continually shovelling

Climbing ladders causing upper and lower limb injuries

Muscular stress with no objects being handled

Bending down, reaching, turning and twisting movements where no objects are being handled

Stress fractures without objects being handled (e.g. from running)

Continually twisting neck with no object being handled

Occupational overuse and repetitive movement occurrences

Working in cramped or unchanging positions

Prolonged standing causing varicose veins

Any accident or incident on a private road, farm, mine site or footpath involving a vehicle where the most serious injury is sustained as a result of that accident or injury

A vehicle catching on fire after the accident

Any accident or incident in a factory, mine or car park involving a fall from a moving vehicle

Hitting stationary objects or moving objects (e.g. cutting oneself while using a knife or other tool)

Rubbing and chafing from wearing footwear or clothes, using tools or handling objects

Being hit by falling objects

Being bitten by an animal

Being bitten by a snake

Being trapped by moving machinery or equipment or between stationary and moving objects

Exposure to mechanical vibration (e.g. from chain saws)

Being assaulted by a person or persons

All slips, trips, stumbles, steps and jumps, even if a fall does not follow

Falls of short distances such as off a curb or into a gutter

Falls up stairs

Fall with no further description

A fall from ground level to below ground level

Landing awkwardly after a jump from a height

Falling off an animal

A fall down stairs etc.

Exposure to a traumatic event

Exposure to workplace or occupational violence (e.g. victim of assault or threatened assault by a person or persons, being a victim of or witnessing hold-ups etc.)

Being a victim of sexual, racial, or other verbal harassment

Work pressure (e.g. mental stress arising from work responsibilities, conflict with peers, performance counselling)

Attempted suicide

Other mental stress factors

Long term exposure to workshop or factory noise, sharp sudden sounds, or low frequency (subsonic pressure) sounds

Single contact with chemical or substance

Immediate allergic reactions to a substance

Splash with acid

Caustic or corrosive substances in the eyes

Contact dermatitis

Swallowing chemical substances

Exposure to smoke from a bush fire, chemical fire etc.

Long term contact with chemicals or substances

Acquired allergic reactions

Slow poisoning, as with lead or other heavy metals

Long term inhalation of dust or fibres, as with asbestos fibres

Exposure to cigarette smoke

Insect and spider bites and stings

Contact with poisonous parts of plant or marine life (e.g. blue ringed octopus, bluebottles, stone fish etc.)

Other and unspecified contact with chemical or substance

Those responses that could not be included into one of the categories above such as contact with hot food/drink/beverages, exposure to extreme weather, jumping on objects, struck by lightning or sunburn

The estimates in this publication are based on information obtained from a sample survey. Any data collection may encounter factors, known as non-sampling error, which can impact on the reliability of the resulting statistics. In addition, the reliability of estimates based on sample surveys are also subject to sampling variability. That is, the estimates may differ from those that would have been produced had all persons in the population been included in the survey.

Non-sampling error may occur in any collection, whether it is based on a sample or a full count such as a census. Sources of non-sampling error include non-response, errors in reporting by respondents or recording of answers by interviewers and errors in coding and processing data. Every effort is made to reduce non-sampling error by careful design and testing of questionnaires, training and supervision of interviewers, and extensive editing and quality control procedures at all stages of data processing.

Standard errors can be calculated using the estimates (counts or percentages) and the corresponding RSEs. See What is a Standard Error and Relative Standard Error, Reliability of estimates for Labour Force data for more details.

To have formally applied for workers' compensation by completing an application for compensation.

People who work without pay, in an economic enterprise operated by a relative.

A job that a person was working in during the reference week which had lasted or was likely to last for a period of two weeks or more.

The job that a person was working in during the reference week in which most hours were usually worked.

Refers to a current job other than the current main job.

Includes all work hours spent on medical consultation, hospitalisation and rest due to the injury or illness. The days or shifts absent do not have to be consecutive.

Length of time worked in current main job.

Length of time worked in job where most recent work-related injury or illness occurred.

Level of highest educational attainment identifies the highest achievement a person has attained in any area of study. It is not a measurement of the relative importance of different fields of study but a ranking of qualifications and other educational attainments regardless of the particular area of study or the type of institution in which the study was undertaken. It is categorised according to the Australian Standard Classification of Education, 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0) Level of education classification.

People aged 15 years and over who, during the reference week:

• worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind, in a job or business or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers); or
• worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e. contributing family workers); or
• were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:
• away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week; or
• away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week; or
• away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or
• on strike or locked out; or
• on workers' compensation and expected to return to their job; or
• were employers or own account workers who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.
   

People who work for a public or private employer and receive remuneration in wages, salary, on a commission basis (with or without a retainer), tips, piece rates, or payment in kind. From August 2014, the Work Related Injuries (WRI) Survey definition of employees differs from the definition used in surveys prior to July 2014 including, the Labour Force Survey, other household surveys.

Employees who were entitled to either paid sick leave or paid holiday leave (or both).

Employees who were not entitled to, or did not know whether they were entitled to, paid sick and paid holiday leave.

People who operate their own unincorporated economic enterprise or engage independently in a profession or trade, and hire one or more employees.

Monetary assistance received from any party to cover medical expenses or income loss, incurred due to their work-related injury or illness.

See 'Worked on a fixed-term contract'.

Employed persons who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and others who, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.

An enterprise which is registered as a separate legal entity to its members or owners (also known as a limited liability company).

In this publication, industry relates to a group of businesses or organisations that perform similar sets of activities in terms of the production of goods or services. Industry is classified according to Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (Revision 2.0) (cat. no. 1292.0).

See 'Work-related injury or illness'.

The 12 months up to and including the survey reference week.

The job in which most hours are usually worked.

People who worked in more than one job or business during the survey reference week, excluding those who only worked in more than one job because they had changed jobs during the reference week.

Non-school qualifications are awarded for educational attainments other than those of pre-primary, primary or secondary education. They include qualifications at the Postgraduate Degree Level, Master Degree Level, Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate Level, Bachelor Degree Level, Advanced Diploma and Diploma level, and Certificates I, II, III and IV levels. Non-school qualifications may be attained concurrently with school qualifications.

People who are either unemployed or not in the labour force.

People who are not in the categories 'employed' or 'unemployed' as defined.

In this publication, occupation relates to a collection of jobs that are sufficiently similar in their main tasks to be grouped together for the purposes of classification. Occupation is classified according to ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, 2013, Version 1.2 (cat. no. 1220.0).

Persons who work in their own incorporated enterprise, that is, a business entity which is registered as a separate legal entity to its members or owners (may also be known as a limited liability company).

An owner manager of an incorporated enterprise may or may not hire one or more employees in addition to themselves and/or other owners of that business. See Status in employment for more information.

A person who operates his or her own unincorporated enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade.

An owner manager of an unincorporated enterprise may or may not hire one or more employees in addition to themselves and/or other owners of that business. See Status in employment for more information.

The entitlement of employees (excluding owner managers or incorporated enterprises) to either paid holiday leave or paid sick leave (or both) in their job. People employed in their own business or who were contributing family workers were not asked about their leave entitlements.

The last job in which employment ceased during the last 12 months.

The week preceding the week in which the interview was conducted.

A system of working whereby the daily hours of operation at the place of employment are split into at least two set work periods (shifts), for different groups of workers.

Worked under shift arrangements.

Status of employment is determined by an employed person's position in relation to their job, and is usually in respect to a person's main job if they hold more than one job.

Employed persons are classified according to the reported relationship between the person and the enterprise for which they work, together with the legal status of the enterprise where this can be established. The groups include:

• Employees
• Owner manager of incorporated enterprise (OMIEs) with employees;
• Owner manager of incorporated enterprise (OMIEs) without employees;
• Owner manager of unincorporated enterprise (OMUEs) with employees;
• Owner manager of unincorporated enterprise (OMUEs) without employees; and
• Contributing family workers.
   

Persons who were not employed during the reference week, and:

• had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and;
• were available for work in the reference week; or
• were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.
   

The hours usually worked per week by an employed person.

A business entity in which the owner and the business are legally inseparable, so that the owner is liable for any business debts that are incurred.

People who worked in a job which lasted for two weeks or more, in the last 12 months, regardless of whether they worked full-time or part-time.

People who usually worked 35 hours or more per week in the job in which the work-related injury or illness occurred.

People who usually worked less than 35 hours or more per week in the job in which the work-related injury or illness occurred.

Workers' compensation includes:

• payments by an insurer or other liable party for costs related to a work-related injury or illness:
• medical payments, incapacity payments (income maintenance and salary top-up), rehabilitation payments, travel payments and legal payments; and
• any 'settlement' or 'judgement of claim'.
   

Any injury or illness or disease which first occurred in the last 12 months, where a person suffers either physically or mentally from a condition that has arisen out of, or in the course of, employment.

The injury or illness was considered to be in scope if the respondent first became aware of it in the last 12 months, even though the cause of the injury or illness may have occurred outside the 12 month reference period. Included are injuries or illnesses that occurred while commuting to and from work, outside the place of work but while on work duty, or during work breaks.

Information was collected about the respondent's most recent work-related injury or illness if there was more than one work-related injury or illness in the reference period.

Owner managers who were engaged by an organisation to provide a particular service or undertake a particular task at an agreed price or rate, and generally for a specified period.

Employees (excluding owner managers of incorporated enterprises) with a contract of employment which specifies that the employment will be terminated on a particular date or on completion of a specific task.

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.

Relevance relates to the degree to which statistical information meets the needs of users. It involves client liaison, program review, priority setting and assuring that the statistics produced together with the underlying concepts conform with international statistical standards. The ABS regularly reviews its statistical programs to ensure that they remain relevant to user needs. For the work-related injuries topic, this happens primarily through the Labour Statistics Advisory Group and in consultation with key clients.

The concepts, definitions and classifications used in the work-related injuries topic help to ensure its relevance to clients. Work-related injuries data are classified according to the Type of Occurrence Classification System which is maintained by Safe Work Australia for coding workers' compensation claims. This includes a classification for the injury or illness itself, and a classification for how the injury or illness occurred. Other classifications, concepts and definitions used in this publication are consistent with those used in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0).

Data on work-related injuries were collected as part of the 2017-18 Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS). The MPHS is a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS) and is designed to collect annual statistics on a small number of self-contained topics. The scope of the LFS is restricted to people aged 15 years and over and excludes members of the permanent defence forces; certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments usually excluded from census and estimated resident populations; overseas residents in Australia; and members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants). The 2017-18 MPHS excluded people living in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and people living in non-private dwellings such as hotels, university residences, students at boarding schools, patients in hospitals, inmates of prisons and residents of other institutions (e.g. retirement homes, homes for persons with disabilities).

The timeliness of statistical information refers to the delay between the reference period to which the information pertains and the date on which the information is made available. Work-Related Injuries, Australia (cat. no. 6324.0) is published approximately 5 months after the end of the enumeration period.

For sample surveys, accuracy describes how close a statistical estimate is likely to be to its true value. The accuracy of statistical estimates in sample surveys can be impacted by two types of error: non-sampling error and sampling error.

Non-sampling error arises from inaccuracies in collecting, recording and processing the data. Non-sampling error may also arise because information cannot be obtained from all persons selected in the survey. Every effort has been made to minimise non-sampling error for work-related injuries by designing effective questionnaires, providing appropriate training for interviewers, and undertaking good data processing procedures.

Sampling error occurs because a sample of the population of interest is surveyed, rather than the entire population. One measure of the likely difference resulting from not including all dwellings in the survey is given by the standard error (SE). There are about two chances in three that a sample estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if all dwellings had been included in the survey, and about 19 chances in 20 that the difference will be less than two SEs. Measures of the relative standard errors (RSE) of the estimates for this survey are included with this release.

Only estimates (numbers and proportions) with RSEs less than 25% are considered sufficiently reliable for most purposes. Estimates with RSEs between 25% to 50% are annotated to indicate they are subject to high sample variability and should be used with caution. In addition, estimates with RSEs greater than 50% are annotated to indicate they are considered too unreliable for general use.

Coherence of statistical data includes coherence between different data items pertaining to the same point in time, coherence between the same data item for different points in time, and coherence between various jurisdictions.

Data on occupational injuries and illnesses are also compiled by SafeWork Australia using information supplied by Commonwealth, state and territory work cover authorities. Like the ABS work-related injuries data, this information is also disseminated using the Type of Occurrence Classification System. However, the population covered by the ABS estimates differs from SafeWork Australia's as it includes injuries sustained by all categories of employed workers; injuries that have been claimed under workers' compensation; and injuries that have not been claimed under workers' compensation.

Information in Work-Related Injuries, Australia (cat. no. 6324.0) uses the same standards, definitions and classifications that are used in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), however estimates are not directly comparable due to differences in the scope and sample of the MPHS and the LFS.

International recommendations on the concepts associated with work-related hazards and risks are made by the International Conferences of Labour Statisticians (ICLS). While the terminology used in the ABS work-related injuries topic differs from that used in the international standards, the underlying definitions are broadly consistent. More information, refer to Occupational Injuries and Diseases, Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001).

To aid in the interpretation of the data, detailed explanatory notes, technical notes and definitions are provided with the publication.

For the 2017–18 release, tables and associated RSEs are available in spreadsheet form on the ABS website.

For further information about ABS data available on request, contact the National Information and Referral Centre on 1300 135 070 or via email to client.services@abs.gov.au.