The Work Related Injuries survey

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    NAME OF ORGANISATION
    Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

    OVERVIEW

    The Work Related Injuries survey collects information about persons who had experienced a work-related injury or illness in the previous 12 months.

    PURPOSE

    The purpose of the survey is to provide information on the extent of work-related injuries. Data collected in the survey will assist in monitoring programs and formulating policies in relation to workers' compensation and occupational health and safety.

    SCOPE

    This survey is conducted as part of the Monthly Population Survey, which comprises the Labour Force Survey and, in most months, a supplementary survey topic.

    SCOPE - Labour Force Survey

    The Labour Force Survey includes all persons aged 15 and over except:

    • members of the permanent defence forces;
    • certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments, customarily excluded from census and estimated populations;
    • overseas residents in Australia; and
    • members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants) stationed in Australia.

    From July 1993 Jervis Bay Territory is also excluded from the scope of the survey. Before July 1993 it was included in estimates for the Australian Capital Territory.

    SCOPE - Work-Related Injuries

    The Work-Related Injuries Survey collected information about persons aged 15 years and over who worked at some time in the previous 12 months and who suffered a work-related injury or illness.

    From July 1997, all supplementary surveys excluded persons in remote and sparsely settled areas of Australia. The exclusion of these persons has only a minor effect on estimates for individual States or Territories.

    COVERAGE - Labour Force Survey

    In the Labour Force Survey, coverage rules are applied which aim to ensure that each person is associated with only one dwelling, and hence has only one chance of selection. The chance of a person being enumerated at two separate dwellings in the one survey is considered to be negligible.

    Persons who are away from their usual residence for six weeks or less at the time of interview are enumerated at their usual residence (relevant information may be obtained from other usual residents present at the time of the survey).



    DATA DETAIL

    Conceptual framework

    Persons who worked at some time during the year ending September were asked whether they experienced a work-related injury or illness in the same period.

    The survey broadly defined work-related injuries and illnesses as those sustained as a result of work activities, or on a journey to or from work, or by aggravation of pre-existing conditions where employment was a contributory factor. This definition is broadly consistent with international standards recommended by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians.

    Included are:

    • 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.

    Work-related injuries or illness resulting in death are excluded.

    Main outputs

    Results of the Work-related Injuries Survey including tables and analysis are released in Publication format and include:

    PERSONS WHO WORKED DURING THE PREVIOUS YEAR

    • Whether experienced a work-related injury or illness in the previous year, by current or previous job, by sex
    • Whether experienced a work-related injury or illness and proportion who experienced a work-related injury or illness, by selected characteristics

    PERSONS WHO EXPERIENCED A WORK-RELATED INJURY OR ILLNESS IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR

    • Whether working or not working at the time of interview, by occupation and industry of the job in which the most recent work-related injury or illness occurred
    • Whether applied for workers' compensation, by number of days/shifts absent from work, by whether injury or illness occurred in current or previous job, by sex
    • Main reason did not apply for workers' compensation, by whether received financial assistance, by sex
    • Sources of financial assistance, by whether applied or did not apply for workers' compensation, by sex
    • Whether applied for or received workers' compensation, by selected characteristics of the job in which the most recent injury or illness occurred

    PERSONS WHO WERE EMPLOYEES IN THE JOB WHERE THEY EXPERIENCED A WORK-RELATED INJURY OR ILLNESS

    • Employees, by selected characteristics, by sex

    Classifications

    Demographics: State, Area, Region, Sex, Marital Status, Relationship in Household, Period of Arrival and Age.

    Country of Birth: The Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC).

    Occupation: Australian Standard Classification of Occupations Second Edition (ASCO SE).

    Industry: Australia and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC).

    Other concepts (summary)

    Not applicable

    GEOGRAPHIC DETAIL
    Australia
    New South Wales
    Victoria
    Queensland
    South Australia
    Western Australia
    Tasmania
    Northern Territory
    ACT
    Part of State Metropolitan
    Part of State Extra-Metropolitan

    Comments and/or Other Regions

    Not all data available for all areas.

    COLLECTION FREQUENCY
    4 Yearly

    Frequency comments

    This survey was first collected in September 2000.

    COLLECTION HISTORY

    First collected in September 2000.

    DATA AVAILABILITY
    Yes

    Data availability comments

    Publication Work-Related Injuries, Australia (ABS Cat No. 6324.0)


    DATE OF LAST UPDATE FOR THIS DOCUMENT
    31/03/2006 11:43 AM