Australia loses the equivalent of 41,000 full-time workers to work-related injury and illness annually

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-06-03 14:30

Australia; VIC

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The equivalent of 41,000 full-time workers are being lost each year to workplace-related injury and illness, according to Australian research. The team used data on occupational injury claims to estimate how many people are taking time off work due to workplace injuries and illnesses, and how long they are out for. Over 2012-2017, the researchers say about 41,000 working years were lost annually, with an average of 150,000 people requiring time off. The types of injuries resulting in the biggest loss of working years were traumatic joint and muscle injuries (40%) and musculoskeletal disorders (20.7%), the researchers say, with mental health conditions in third place at 13%.