Safe Work Australia has published a new article exploring how work health and safety outcomes vary across Australia’s urban, regional, and remote areas.
The analysis uses national workers’ compensation claims data to provide new perspectives on the varying rates of worker injuries and illnesses across these regions.
Key findings include:
- Overall, the incidence rate of serious claims is 56.7% higher in very remote areas relative to major cities.
- Mental health claims are more common in urban areas, while physical injuries are more common in remote regions.
- Industry employment concentration, such as mining and agriculture in remote areas, plays a role in WHS outcomes.
The data show that, overall, the incidence rate of serious claims and the time lost burden of work-related injuries and illnesses are greater in the most remote areas of Australia compared to the major cities.
However, there are key differences across urban, regional and remote areas. For example, in outer regional and remote or very remote areas, there are higher concentrations of serious claims for traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injury and Fractures, and lower concentrations of serious claims for mental health conditions.
The SWA article features interactive visualisations that let you explore the data by remoteness area, injury type, and employment composition.
Read more: Work health and safety across Australia’s regions | dataswa