Injuries up, fatalities down

New Zealand’s OHS performance compared to Australia’s continues to slip, based on comparison data released late last year. The only bright spot was a substantial decline in compensated work-related fatalities, though even by this measure the graph has been going the wrong way in recent years.

The data comes from the 11th edition of the Comparative Performance Monitoring Report, published by the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council and released in December, which compares the performance of all Australian workers’ compensation and OHS jurisdictions, along with New Zealand.

Internationally, Australia recorded the seventh-lowest work-related traumatic fatality rate in the world on figures from the 2006-07 year, and its rate is decreasing faster than most of the countries ahead of it.

In New Zealand there were 75 compensated traumatic work fatalities in 2007-08, a 35% decrease from the previous year and the lowest level recorded in the previous five years. However from 2001-02 the New Zealand fatality rate has been steadily increasing, while Australia’s has been decreasing.

On the injury front, Australia’s overall rate of what the report calls “serious claims” has declined steadily over the last four years, from 16.4 to 14.1 claims per 1000 employees between 2003-04 and 2006-07. Preliminary results from 2007-08 give a rate of 13.5 per 1000 claims, which is expected to rise a little when all claims are settled.

In New Zealand over the same period there was a nine percent increase in serious claims, from 14.9 to 16.2 claims per 1000 employees. Preliminary data for 2007-08 show a slight decrease to 15.4 claims/1000, but again this is likely to rise a little.

The report acknowledges jurisdictional differences in recording data but says these have been taken into account as far as possible. In any case, even if the absolute numbers are difficult to compare in any given year due to measurement and definition differences, the year-on-year trends remain valid for comparison.

This story appeared in Safeguard Update newsletter of 8 March 2010.

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