6324.0.30.001 - Microdata: Work Related Injuries, 2013-14 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 06/07/2015  First Issue
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WORK-RELATED INJURIES AND ILLNESS CLASSIFICATIONS

The Type of Occurrence Classifications System (TOOCS) was developed by SafeWork Australia. This classification system is used to classify the nature and cause of illnesses and injuries in the Work-Related Injuries topic in the Multi-Purpose Household Survey.

The work-related injury or illness classification used in this survey is based on the TOOCS nature of injury classification and is shown in Table 1, below. The classification of how the work-related injury or illness occurred is based on the TOOCS mechanism of injury classification, and shown in Table 2.

Table 1. WORK-RELATED INJURY OR ILLNESS

Fracture
Breaking of a bone, cartilage, etc.
Chronic joint or muscle condition
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)
Sprain/strain
Sprains and strains of joints and adjacent muscles
Acute trauma sprains and strains
Sprains and strains of cartilage
Dislocations
Cut/open wound
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)
Crushing injury/internal organ damage
Internal injury of chest, abdomen and pelvis
Injury with intact skin surface and crushing injury (e.g. bruises, haematomas)
Superficial injury - covers minor injuries such as:
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 or other mental condition
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
Amputation
Traumatic amputation including loss of eyeball
Burns
Electrical burns, chemical burns, cold burns, hot burns, friction burns, combination burn or burns not elsewhere classified
Other
Responses that could not be included into one of the categories above such as asthma, cancer, concussion or heart attack


Table 2. HOW WORK-RELATED INJURY OR ILLNESS OCCURRED

Lifting, pushing, pulling, bending
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
Repetitive movement with low muscle loading
Occupational overuse and repetitive movement occurrences
Prolonged standing, working in cramped or unchanging positions
Working in cramped or unchanging positions
Prolonged standing causing varicose veins
Vehicle accident
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, being hit or cut by object or 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
Fall on same level
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
Fall from a height
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 mental stress
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 sound
Long term exposure to workshop or factory noise, sharp sudden sounds, or low frequency (subsonic pressure) sounds
Contact with a chemical or substance
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
Other
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