WorkSafe campaign to address workplace fall hazards

Since 2018, WorkSafe has accepted 353 claims from workers seriously injured in falls in the Loddon Mallee region. This includes the local government areas of Bendigo, Buloke, Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Gannawarra, Loddon, Macedon Ranges, Mildura, Mount Alexander and Swan Hill.

The total includes 16 claims since the start of 2023.

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Across Victoria, 41 workers have died and 7395 workers have been seriously injured as a result of workplace falls in the past five years.

WorkSafe executive director health and safety Dr Narelle Beer said this year alone, three workers had already lost their lives due to falls from heights.

"No one should lose their life at work," she said.

"But the fact that in most cases falls can and should be prevented makes these losses shocking.

"Since the workers' compensation scheme was established in 1985, the equivalent of almost $5.3 billion in today's dollars has been paid to support workers injured in falls from heights.

"A further estimated $1.1 billion will be needed in future help for workers who currently require ongoing assistance."

Dr Beer said workplaces had changed a lot in the almost 40 years since WorkCover was established in Victoria and with those changes have come safety improvements and new challenges.

"Yet frustratingly, workers continue to be killed and injured in many of the same ways they have since the Industrial Revolution - falls from heights, being crushed or hit by moving objects; interacting with machinery; and exposure from long-term contact with chemicals or substances.

"We know how to prevent falls. Employers are legally required to take all practicable steps to do this or risk prosecution and penalties.

"And yet, 380 workers have been seriously injured in falls so far this year. How many more will fall before the year is out?"

Dr Beer said falls occurred across all industries, but the lion's share happened in construction, with 18 fatalities and 2168 serious injuries in the sector since January 2018.

WorkSafe inspectors made 13,000 visits to almost 10,000 construction sites across Victoria last year, and another 4960 visits to more than 3400 sites in the first four months of this year.

Dr Beer said while many do the right thing, too often inspectors still see a blatant disregard for the hazards of working at heights.

"Things like workers on a roof without any fall protection at all or even wearing harnesses that aren't attached to an anchor point," she said.

"Shoddy scaffolding, platforms without guard rails, unprotected voids and unsafe ladders - the list goes on.

"It's so frustrating.

"Inspectors often hear excuses like "it was just a five minute job". The fact is, there is no excuse for taking short-cuts when working at heights, it doesn't matter whether a project involves a day's work or a few minutes. It only takes seconds for a fall to change a life forever.

"No one ever thinks that they will fall. But when it happens, it happens in just seconds - and the consequences can last a lifetime."

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This week, former building supervisor John and his wife Pat will share their story online as part of WorkSafe's Falls from Height campaign, which puts employers on notice that WorkSafe will enforce high standards on fall prevention.

In 2006, John fell through the second-storey floor of a damaged building.

He managed to stop himself falling to the floor below - but the damage to his neck and spine would mean a lifetime of pain and rob him of his ability to work.

Sadly, like so many workers who suffer a traumatic physical injury, John also suffered a mental injury.

John rarely leaves his home in Tarneit. On a good day he can get out into the garden or even to the hardware store. But they are not all good days.

"John's story and the impact his injury has had on his wife and family is devastating," Dr Beer said.

"But heartbreakingly, he is just one of thousands of workers whose lives have been turned upside down by a workplace fall.

"Because it's every employer's responsibility to make sure that everyone is working safely at heights."

You can watch John and Pat's story here as part of WorkSafe's Falls from Height campaign.

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