The difference in statistics by sex for work-related injury and illness
The workplace injuries sustained by men and women result in different median time lost and median compensation.
A statistical comparison of serious claims made between men and women:
- In 2023, the majority (58.9%) of serious claims were made by men.
- However, reflecting the trend of increasing female workforce participation, the share of serious claims accounted for by women (56,900 claims or 41.1%) has increased by 4.7% over the 10 years to 2022-23.
- Once hours of work are accounted for, the serious claims frequency rate is 12.4% higher for men (6.9) compared to women (6.1).
- Serious claims for women have a higher median time lost (7.6 weeks) than serious claims for men (7.0 weeks).
- By contrast, serious claims made by men have a higher median compensation paid, $2,800 (or 22.3%) greater for men ($15,600) compared to women ($12,700).
The nature of work-related injury and illness also differs noticeably between men and women:
- Women have a much higher share of work-related injury or illness accounted for by mental health conditions (15.0%, compared to 7.4% for men).
- On the other hand, men have a higher share of work-related injury or illness accounted for by wounds, lacerations, amputations and internal organ damage (18.3%, compared to 9.7% for women).
- These differences are at least in part due to the different types of work that men and women undertake across the Australian labour market.
