Agriculture, forestry and fishing - Statistical update ... | Agriculture, forestry and fishing –...

Office of Industrial Relations

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Statistical update 2009-10 to 2013-14

2 | Agriculture, forestry and fishing – Statistical update – 2009-10 to 2013-14

Table of contents1. Summary of findings ...................................................................................................... 3

1.1 Labour market ........................................................................................................3

1.2 Accepted workers’ compensation claims ................................................................3

Occupations ..........................................................................................................3

Non-fatal claims and claim rates ...........................................................................3

Serious claims ......................................................................................................3

Mechanisms of injury ............................................................................................3

Agencies of injury .................................................................................................3

Fatalities ...............................................................................................................3

1.3 Inspectorate activity ...............................................................................................3

2. Labour market ............................................................................................................... 4

2.1 Business size ..........................................................................................................4

2.2 Workers covered by workers’ compensation ..........................................................5

2.3 Full-time and part-time employment ......................................................................7

3. Accepted workers’ compensation claims ......................................................................10

3.1 Accepted claims by occupations ........................................................................... 10

3.2 Non-fatal claims and claim rates by industry .........................................................11

3.3 Serious injury claims by industry and occupation ............................................... 17

3.4 Mechanism of injury (non-fatal claims) ................................................................ 18

3.5 Agency of injury (non-fatal claims) ....................................................................... 19

3.6 Fatalities ..............................................................................................................20

4. Inspectorate activity .................................................................................................... 20

4.1 Events notified ......................................................................................................20

4.2 Inspectorate activity ............................................................................................. 21

4.3 Statutory notices ..................................................................................................22

5. Explanatory notes ....................................................................................................... 23

Accepted claims .........................................................................................................23

Claim rate ...................................................................................................................23

Events ........................................................................................................................24

Full-time workers .......................................................................................................24

Part-time workers ......................................................................................................24

Notices .......................................................................................................................24

Site visits ...................................................................................................................24

Workers covered .......................................................................................................24


1. Summary of findings1.1 Labour market • Employment in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry

fell 9.9 per cent per annum over the five year period to 2013-14, whilst employment overall for Queensland rose (up 1.2 per cent per annum).

• Workers in agriculture, forestry and fishing were slightly more likely to be engaged on a full-time basis (78 per cent) than workers in Queensland as a whole (71 per cent) in 2013-14.

1.2 Accepted workers’ compensation claims

Occupations

• While managers comprised 52 per cent of employed people in the agriculture industry, labourers lodged the greater share of claims (56 per cent of all non-fatal claims).

Non-fatal claims and claim rates

• The non-fatal claim rate in agriculture, forestry and fishing in 2013-14, at 57.2 claims per 1,000 employees, was substantially above the state average of 36 claims.

• Between 2009-10 and 2013-14, the non-fatal claim rate increased 8.7 per cent per annum to 57.2 claims per 1,000 employees, whilst the rate for Queensland fell by 6.1 per cent per annum to 36 claims per 1,000 employees. The increase in the industry rate was driven by a significant reduction in the size of the workforce due to the worsening of the drought. The number of claims remained relatively constant.

Serious claims

• In 2013-14, the incidence of serious injuries in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (28.5 claims per 1,000 workers) was more than double the incidence recorded for all Queensland industries (12.6 claims per 1,000 workers).However, serious injuries accounted for only three per cent of work related serious injuries in Queensland at that time.

• Over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14, the serious injury claim rate grew 6.2 per cent per annum for the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, compared to a fall of 4.6 per cent per annum in the average for Queensland.

Mechanisms of injury

The most common mechanisms of injury over the five year period to 2013-14 were:

• being hit by moving objects (23 per cent)

• body stressing (21 per cent)

• falls, trips and slips (21 per cent).

Agencies of injury

The most common agencies of injury were over the five year period to 2013-14 were:

• non-powered hand tools, appliances and equipment (21 per cent)

• mobile plant and transport (20 per cent)

• animal, human and biological agencies (17 per cent)

• environmental agencies (15 per cent).

Fatalities

• Over the 2009-10 to 2013-14 period, agriculture, forestry and fishing was among the top three most high-risk industries in Queensland for fatalities. There were an average of five fatalities per year recorded by this industry.

1.3 Inspectorate activityIn 2013-14:

• approximately 44 per cent of events notified were categorised as bodily harm or dangerous event in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry.

• 50 per cent of inspectorate activities were proactive, such as workshops, seminars and proactive workplace visits.

• 85 per cent of notices issued to businesses in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector were improvement notices.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing


2. Labour market2.1 Business sizeThe data in Table 1 shows the number of businesses by size (number of employees) for each of the industry subdivisions in agriculture, forestry and fishing in 2014. Consistent with Queensland as a whole, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry was overwhelmingly comprised of small businesses (98 per cent). However, non-employing businesses were particularly prevalent in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (77 per cent) compared to the Queensland average (61 per cent). There were few medium (two per cent) and large businesses (less than one per cent) in the industry.

Table 1: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, size of business, Queensland, June 2014

Industry subdivision Number of businesses by size

Small Medium Large

Non-employing

1-19 Subtotal 20-199 200+ Total

Agriculture 28,416 7,628 36,044 572 29 36,645

Aquaculture 141 70 211 7 0 218

Forestry and logging 1,254 163 1,417 9 0 1,426

Fishing, hunting and trapping 1,144 373 1,517 6 0 1,523

Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 1,838 898 2,736 80 0 2,816

Agriculture, forestry and fishing 32,793 9,132 41,925 674 29 42,628

Queensland 255,817 149,544 405,361 10,738 601 416,700

Industry subdivision Proportion of businesses by size (%)

Small Medium Large

Non-employing

1-19 Subtotal 20-199 200+ Total

Agriculture 78 21 98 2 0 100

Aquaculture 65 32 97 3 0 100

Forestry and logging 88 11 99 1 0 100

Fishing, hunting and trapping 75 24 100 0 0 100

Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 65 32 97 3 0 100

Agriculture, forestry and fishing 77 21 98 2 0 100

Queensland 61 36 97 3 0 100

Source: ABS, Couns of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, Jun 2010 to Jun 2014. Cat. No. 8165.0


2.2 Workers covered by workers’ compensationTable 2 shows that only 55 per cent of all people working in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry were covered by workers’ compensation in 2013-14. In contrast, 90 per cent of all employed people in Queensland are covered by the workers’ compensation. One explanation for this is the proportionally high number of businesses that are non-employing and therefore not required to hold a Workers’ Compensation policy.

The number of workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry has fallen 9.9 per cent per annum over the five year period to 2013-14. Similarly, the number of workers covered by workers’ compensation fell, but at a lower rate of 8.4 per cent per annum. The number of workers covered in this industry fell from 43,376 workers in 2009-10 to 30,633 workers in 2013-14. In contrast, employment in all Queensland industries grew by 1.2 per cent per annum and the number of Queensland workers covered by workers’ compensation rose by 1.9 per cent per annum over the same period.

The majority of workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector in Queensland are employed in the agriculture subdivision (89.4 per cent or 49,675 people in 2013-14). The sheep, beef cattle and grain farming industry group accounts for 40 per cent of employment in agriculture and is characterised by a relatively low proportion of workers’ compensation coverage at 34 per cent in 2013-14 or 22,241 people. One explanation for this is the large proportion of self-employment in this industry group.

Despite the downward trend in employment for this industry over the five years to 2013-14, some industry sub-groups recorded growth in employment - fruit and tree nut growing (up 745 people or 13 per cent), forestry support services (up 271 people or 68 per cent) and aquaculture (up 65 people or 13 per cent). All of these industry sub-groups recorded a corresponding growth in the number of workers covered by workers’ compensation.

Table 2: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, employees covered by workers’ compensation

Subdivision and group Employees covered by workers’ compensation

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Av. Annual Change (% p.a)

Agriculture 37,796 37,904 39,749 37,091 27,291 -7.8

Nursery and floriculture production 2,289 2,581 2,365 1,221 961 -19.5

Mushroom and vegetable growing 3,515 1,713 2,378 2,754 1,959 -13.6

Fruit and tree nut growing 2,979 3,515 6,666 7,862 5,389 16.0

Sheep, beef cattle and grain farming 13,141 14,922 12,862 7,849 7,586 -12.8

Other crop growing 5,636 3,760 4,210 4,939 2,970 -14.8

Dairy cattle farming 1,063 1,590 1,548 2,287 227 -32.1

Poultry farming 975 1,512 1,979 1,328 614 -10.9

Deer farming 0 0 0 0 0 0.0

Other livestock farming 1,775 1,761 914 2,913 862 -16.5

Aquaculture 439 684 332 99 560 6.3

Aquaculture 439 684 332 99 560 6.3

Forestry and logging 924 801 1,494 514 643 -8.7


Fishing, hunting and trapping 532 581 2,101 1,243 94 -35.1

Fishing 216 298 1,810 902 94 -18.7

Hunting and trapping 141 188 0 96 0 N/A

Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 3,312 3,433 3,847 1,411 1,776 -14.4

Forestry support services 401 113 749 104 672 13.8

Agriculture and fishing support services 2,911 3,219 2,903 1,307 1,105 -21.5

Agriculture, forestry and fishing 43,476 43,937 47,523 40,975 30,633 -8.4

Queensland 1,927,777 1,978,568 2,032,345 2,041,777 2,079,479 1.9


Subdivision and group All employed people


Agriculture 75,644 64,388 63,665 58,985 49,675 -10

Nursery and floriculture production 3,306 2,901 3,258 1,920 1,614 -16.4

Mushroom and vegetable growing 4,104 2,869 3,093 2,754 2,248 -14





Poultry farming 1,196 1,684 1,979 1,415 708 -12.3

Deer farming 0 0 0 0 0 0.0

Other livestock farming 3,113 2,176 1,420 3,726 1,046 -23.9

Aquaculture 495 684 332 99 560 3.1

Aquaculture 495 684 332 99 560 3.1



Fishing, hunting and trapping 1,744 1,699 2,699 1,953 515 -26.3

Fishing 831 1,074 2,327 1,416 515 -11.3

Hunting and trapping 573 321 81 196 0 -100.0





Queensland 2,207,438 2,242,731 2,274,318 2,287,085 2,315,185 1.2

Subdivision and group Proportion of all employed people covered by workers’ compensation (%)

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Change *

Agriculture 50 59 62 63 55 5.0

Nursery and floriculture production 69 89 73 64 60 -9.7

Mushroom and vegetable growing 86 60 77 100 87 1.5

Fruit and tree nut growing 52 73 95 83 83 31.1

Sheep, beef cattle and grain farming 38 48 45 45 34 -4.3

Other crop growing 52 46 65 45 65 12.9

Dairy cattle farming 45 96 77 72 26 -18.7

Poultry farming 81 90 100 94 87 5.3

Deer farming N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Other livestock farming 57 81 64 78 82 25.4

Aquaculture 89 100 100 100 100 11.5

Aquaculture 89 100 100 100 100 11.5



Fishing, hunting and trapping 30 34 78 64 18 -12.2

Fishing 26 28 78 64 18 -7.7

Hunting and trapping 25 59 N/A 49 N/A 1.0

Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 70 58 67 53 50 -20.0

Forestry support services 100 60 76 100 100 0

Agriculture and fishing support services 67 57 63 51 38 -28.9

Agriculture, forestry and fishing 52 59 64 63 55 3.6

Queensland 87 88 89 89 90 2.5Sources: ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003 Notes: * percentage point chage N/A = not applicable.


2.3 Full-time and part-time employmentThe agriculture, forestry and fishing industry is characterised by a relatively high rate of full-time employment, compared to the state average. In 2013-14, the industry employed 78 per cent of its workers on a full-time basis, compared with the average for Queensland recorded at 71 per cent.

In 2013-14, the agriculture subdivision employed the majority of people in this sector at 89.4 per cent (or 49,675 people), with full time employment accounting for 77.5 per cent of employees (38,481 people). The agriculture, forestry and fishing support services subdivision was the second highest employing group, accounting for 6.5 per cent (or 3,587 people) of the industry’s workforce with full-time employment accounting for 85.2 per cent (or 3,057 people). Together, these industry subdivisions accounted for 95.9 per cent of people employed in the industry with a full-time employment rate of 78 per cent.

Table 3: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, category of employment

Subdivision and group Employed full-time


Agriculture 57,830 48,724 49,639 44,122 38,481 -9.7


Mushroom and vegetable growing 2,639 2,160 2,627 2,053 1,360 -15.3

Fruit and tree nut growing 4,373 3,217 5,353 7,023 4,256 -0.7




Poultry farming 636 1,237 1,556 1,180 530 -4.5

Deer farming 0 0 0 0 0 N/A

Other livestock farming 2,209 1,427 1,049 2,850 771 -23.1

Aquaculture 0 566 220 0 298 N/A

Aquaculture 0 566 220 0 298 N/A




Fishing 831 966 1,728 1,098 515 -11.3






Queensland 1,581,530 1,601,943 1,630,108 1,635,046 1,634,351 0.8


Subdivision and group Employed part-time


Agriculture 17,814 15,664 14,026 14,863 11,194 -11.0

Nursery and floriculture production 1,682 853 483 441 583 -23.3

Mushroom and vegetable growing 1,465 709 466 702 889 -11.7



Other crop growing 2,383 2,562 1,532 3,027 862 -22.5

Dairy cattle farming 455 257 90 1,107 117 -28.8

Poultry farming 560 447 423 235 178 -24.9


Other livestock farming 905 749 372 876 276 -25.7

Aquaculture 495 118 112 99 262 -14.7

Aquaculture 495 118 112 99 262 -14.7

Forestry and logging 0 88 262 0 0 N/A

Forestry and logging 0 88 262 0 0 N/A

Fishing, hunting and trapping 306 298 694 318 0 N/A

Fishing 0 108 599 318 0 N/A


Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 1,491 1,174 1,318 567 530 -22.8

Forestry support services 119 76 0 0 0 N/A

Agriculture and fishing support services 1,373 997 1,123 567 530 -21.2


Queensland 625,908 640,788 644,210 652,039 680,834 2.1

Subdivision and group Employed total


Agriculture 75,644 64,388 63,665 58,985 49,675 -10


Mushroom and vegetable growing 4,104 2,869 3,093 2,754 2,249 -14





Poultry farming 1,196 1,684 1,979 1,415 708 -12.3


Other livestock farming 3,113 2,176 1,420 3,726 1,046 -23.9

Aquaculture 495 684 332 99 560 3.1

Aquaculture 495 684 332 99 560 3.1




Fishing 831 1,073 2,327 1,416 515 -11.3






Queensland 2,207,438 2,242,731 2,274,318 2,287,085 2,315,185 1.2


Subdivision and group Full-time workers as a proportion of total (%)

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Change*

Agriculture 76 76 78 75 77 1.0

Nursery and floriculture production 49 71 85 77 64 14.8

Mushroom and vegetable growing 64 75 85 75 60 -3.8

Fruit and tree nut growing 76 67 76 74 65 -10.4

Sheep, beef cattle and grain farming 82 83 77 76 82 0


Dairy cattle farming 81 84 96 65 87 5.7


Deer farming N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Other livestock farming 71 66 74 76 74 2.7

Aquaculture N/A 83 66 N/A 53 N/A

Aquaculture N/A 83 66 N/A 53 N/A



Fishing, hunting and trapping 82 82 74 84 100 17.5

Fishing 100 90 74 78 100 0.0

Hunting and trapping 75 73 100 100 N/A N/A

Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 69 80 77 79 85 16.5


Agriculture and fishing support services 69 82 75 78 82 13.3


Queensland 72 71 72 71 71 -1.1

Sources: ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003 Notes: * percentage point change. N/A = not applicable.


3. Accepted workers’ compensation claims3.1 Accepted claims by occupationsTable 4 below outlines the distribution of claims and employment by major occupation groups.

In 2013-14, employment in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry was highest for the occupation groups:

• managers (28,860 people or 52 per cent of all employed people in the industry)

• labourers (15,189 or 27.4 per cent of all employed people in the sector)

• machinery operators and drivers (3,136 people or 5.6 per cent).

Leaving aside the comparatively small numbers of workers in sales (only 96 people), the highest claim rates for the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry in 2013-14 were:

• machinery operators and drivers (114.8 claims per 1,000 workers)

• labourers (64.5 claims per 1,000 workers)

• technicians and trades workers (61.1 claims per 1,000 workers).

Table 4: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, accepted non-fatal claims, employment and claim rate by occupation

Occupation Number of claims

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Av. annual change (% p.a.)

Sales workers 54 22 28 32 29 -14.4

Machinery operators and drivers 537 226 490 370 360 -9.5

Labourers 708 1,098 846 919 979 8.4

Technicians and trades workers 200 130 126 111 143 -8

Professionals 19 18 13 14 25 7.1

Managers 243 209 158 148 146 -12

Clerical and administrative workers 15 19 15 18 23 11.3

Community and personal service workers 3 1 0 4 0 N/A

Total 1,780 1,734 1,678 1,643 1,751 -0.4

Occupation All employed people


Sales workers 732 381 555 385 96 -39.9

Machinery operators and drivers 3,837 4,312 4,434 3,474 3,136 -4.9

Labourers 22,119 23,540 20,809 19,879 15,189 -9

Technicians and trades workers 2,309 1,779 2,006 3,337 2,341 0.3

Professionals 2,859 2,114 1,957 1,159 1,081 -21.6

Managers 45,589 35,292 38,431 31,592 28,860 -10.8

Clerical and administrative workers 6,751 6,956 6,138 5,549 4,832 -8


Total 84,291 74,373 74,329 65,375 55,534 -9.9

Occupation Claim rate (per 1,000 all employed people)


Sales workers 73.8 57.7 50.5 83.1 303.7 42.4

Machinery operators and drivers 140 52.4 110.5 106.5 114.8 -4.8

Labourers 32 46.6 40.7 46.2 64.5 19.1

Technicians and trades workers 86.6 73.1 62.8 33.3 61.1 -8.4

Professionals 6.6 8.5 6.6 12.1 23.1 36.6

Managers 5.3 5.9 4.1 4.7 5.1 -1.3

Clerical and administrative workers 2.2 2.7 2.4 3.2 4.8 21

Community and personal service workers 31.5 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Total 21.1 23.3 22.6 25.1 31.5 10.5Sources: QEIDB, Feb 2015, employee claims. ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003 Notes: N/A = not applicable.


3.2 Non-fatal claims and claim rates by industryTable 5 provides details on the number and claim rate for the non-fatal claims (injury plus disease claims) of workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry. Over the five years from 2009-10 to 2013-14, the number of non-fatal claims remained fairly constant, while there has been a steady fall in the number of employed people across the industry. This has had the effect of significantly raising the claim rate to 57.2 claims per 1,000 workers in 2013-14 (or 8.7 per cent per annum) for the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, whilst the claim rate for all Queensland industries fell to 36 claims per 1,000 employees (a fall of 6.1 per cent per annum). The claim rate used here is the number of claims per 1,000 employees covered by workers’ compensation, rather than as a proportion of all workers due to the limitation of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) labour force survey data.

Factors contributing to the reduction in the number of employees (and subsequent claim rates) for the industry include the on-going drought as well as known sampling anomalies in the ABS labour force survey data and calculations of the seasonal employment figures.

Table 5: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, total accepted non-fatal claims and claim rate

Subdivision and group Number of claims


Agriculture 1,535 1,521 1,432 1,437 1,467 -1.1




Sheep, beef cattle and grain farming 467 512 486 508 534 3.4

Other crop growing 94 85 96 80 72 -6.4





Aquaculture 37 33 25 21 30 -5.1

Aquaculture 37 33 25 21 30 -5.1

Forestry and logging 55 11 17 13 14 -29

Forestry and logging 55 11 17 13 14 -29


Fishing 4 8 9 7 18 45.6

Hunting and trapping 2 8 8 14 7 36.8

Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 147 153 187 151 215 10




Queensland 89,354 89,359 88,028 82,000 74,840 -4.3


Subdivision and group Claim rate (per 1,000 all employed people)


Agriculture 40.6 40.1 36 38.7 53.8 7.3

Nursery and floriculture production 81.7 39.1 40.6 64.7 95.8 4

Mushroom and vegetable growing 43.5 109.2 66.4 54.8 74.0 14.2

Fruit and tree nut growing 137.3 113.2 53.6 47.6 78.1 -13.1

Sheep, beef cattle and grain farming 35.5 34.3 37.8 64.7 70.4 18.6

Other crop growing 16.7 22.6 22.8 16.2 24.2 9.8

Dairy cattle farming 23.5 22.6 15.5 8.7 97.1 42.6

Poultry farming 69.8 55.6 44.5 80.6 133.5 17.6

Deer farming 0 0 0 0 0 0

Other livestock farming 74.4 67 138.9 40.2 114.8 11.5

Aquaculture 84.4 48.3 75.3 211.6 53.6 -10.7

Aquaculture 84.4 48.3 75.3 211.6 53.6 -10.7

Forestry and logging 59.5 13.7 11.4 25.3 21.8 -22.2


Fishing, hunting and trapping 11.3 27.5 8.1 16.9 265.3 120.2

Fishing 18.5 26.8 5 7.8 191 79.2

Hunting and trapping 14.2 42 0 145 0 -14

Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 44.4 44.6 48.6 107.1 121 28.5

Forestry support services 17.5 238.9 34.7 222.2 65.5 39.2

Agriculture and fishing support services 48.1 39.1 55.5 97.9 154.8 34

Agriculture, forestry and fishing 40.9 39.5 35.3 40.1 57.2 8.7

Queensland 46.4 45.2 43.3 40.2 36 -6.1

Sources: QEIDB, Feb 2015, employee claims. ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003 Notes: N/A = not applicable.


Table 6 and Table 7 provide time series data on non-fatal injury and disease claims over the 2009-10 to 2013-14 period. The data shows that injury claims were much more prevalent than disease claims. In 2013-14, there were 1,559 accepted non-fatal injury claims compared to only 192 accepted non-fatal disease and other claims. Over the five year period to 2013-14, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry experienced an average annual fall of 0.6 per cent per annum in the number of non-fatal injury claims compared to a fall of five per cent per annum recorded for Queensland. Over the same period, the number of non-fatal disease and other claims for the industry rose 1.3 per cent per annum compared to a fall in the indicator of 0.1 per cent per annum across all Queensland industries.

The claim rates (claims per 1,000 workers) for non-fatal injuries and for non-fatal diseases and other categories in 2013-14 were higher for this industry (50.9 and 6.3 respectively) than recorded for all Queensland industries (30.3 and 5.7 respectively).

Table 6: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, all accepted non-fatal injury claims and claim rate



Agriculture 1,388 1,361 1,278 1,288 1,323 -1.2





Other crop growing 81 73 81 74 57 -8.4





Aquaculture 30 28 24 18 26 -3.5

Aquaculture 30 28 24 18 26 -3.5

Forestry and logging 44 10 15 11 13 -26.3



Fishing 4 7 7 4 16 41.4

Hunting and trapping 2 7 8 13 6 31.6





Queensland 77,486 76,371 75,598 69,072 63,001 -5




Agriculture 36.7 35.9 32.2 34.7 48.5 7.2

Nursery and floriculture production 70.8 29.8 32.6 52.4 81.2 3.5

Mushroom and vegetable growing 39 97.5 57.2 47.9 67.9 14.9

Fruit and tree nut growing 122.5 101 46.7 41.2 70.1 -13

Sheep, beef cattle and grain farming 33.2 32.4 35.7 61.5 65.0 18.3

Other crop growing 14.4 19.4 19.2 15 19.2 7.5


Poultry farming 64.6 48.3 39.9 69.3 117.2 16

Deer farming 0 0 0 0 0 0

Other livestock farming 68.7 58.5 123.6 35.4 107.9 11.9

Aquaculture 68.4 41.0 72.3 181.4 46.4 -9.2

Aquaculture 68.4 41.0 72.3 181.4 46.4 -9.2

Forestry and logging 47.6 12.5 10 21.4 20.2 -19.3

Forestry and logging 47.6 12.5 10 21.4 20.2 -19.3

Fishing, hunting and trapping 11.3 24.1 7.1 13.7 233.4 113.2

Fishing 18.5 23.5 3.9 4.4 169.8 74

Hunting and trapping 14.2 37.2 0 135 0 N/A

Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 39.3 39.9 45.0 90.7 98.5 25.9

Forestry support services 12.5 194.7 29.4 183.6 55.1 45

Agriculture and fishing support services 42.9 35.7 52.0 83.4 124.9 30.6


Queensland 40.2 38.6 37.2 33.8 30.3 -6.8



Table 7: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, accepted non-fatal disease and other claims and claim rate



Agriculture 147 160 154 149 144 -0.5



Fruit and tree nut growing 44 43 46 50 43 -0.6



Dairy cattle farming 3 6 2 5 3 0



Other livestock farming 10 15 14 14 6 -12

Aquaculture 7 5 1 3 4 -13.1

Aquaculture 7 5 1 3 4 -13.1



Fishing, hunting and trapping 0 2 2 4 3 N/A

Fishing 0 1 2 3 2 N/A






Queensland 11,868 12,988 12,430 12,928 11,839 -0.1




Agriculture 3.9 4.2 3.9 4 5.3 7.9

Nursery and floriculture production 10.9 9.3 8 12.3 14.6 7.5

Mushroom and vegetable growing 4.6 11.7 9.3 6.9 6.1 7.7

Fruit and tree nut growing 14.8 12.2 6.9 6.4 8.0 -14.3

Sheep, beef cattle and grain farming 2.4 1.9 2.1 3.2 5.4 23

Other crop growing 2.3 3.2 3.6 1.2 5.1 21.6


Poultry farming 5.1 7.3 4.5 11.3 16.3 33.5


Other livestock farming 5.6 8.5 15.3 4.8 7.0 5.4

Aquaculture 16 7.3 3 30.2 7.1 -18.2

Aquaculture 16 7.3 3 30.2 7.1 -18.2



Fishing, hunting and trapping 0 3.4 1.0 3.2 31.8 N/A

Fishing 0 3.4 1.1 3.3 21.2 N/A



Forestry support services 5 44.2 5.3 38.6 10.4 20.2

Agriculture and fishing support services 5.2 3.4 3.4 14.5 29.9 55.2


Queensland 6.2 6.6 6.1 6.3 5.7 -1.9



3.3 Serious injury claims by industry and occupation In 2013-14, the incidence of serious injuries in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (28.5 claims per 1,000 workers) was more than double the incidence recorded for all Queensland industries (12.6 claims per 1,000 workers). However, serious injuries accounted for only three per cent of work related serious injuries in Queensland at that time (Table 8).

Over the 2009-10 to 2013-14 period, the serious injury claim rate rose by 6.2 per cent per annum for the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry. In contrast, there was a fall in the claim rate of 4.6 per cent per annum for all Queensland industries. Most of the serious injury

claims in agriculture, forestry and fishing originate from agriculture.

Table 8: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, accepted non-fatal serious claims and claim rate

Industry subdivision Number of claims


Agriculture 847 833 835 806 726 -3.8

Aquaculture 13 14 17 9 17 6.9




Agriculture, forestry and fishing 974 930 960 910 872 -2.7

Queensland 29,251 28,802 29,046 27,942 26,129 -2.8

Industry subdivision Claim rate (per 1,000 all employed people)


Agriculture 22.4 22 21 21.7 26.6 4.4

Aquaculture 29.6 20.5 51.2 90.7 30.4 0.6

Forestry and logging 26 7.5 5.4 9.7 14 -14.3

Fishing, hunting and trapping 3.8 10.3 5.7 7.2 191 166.9



Queensland 15.2 14.6 14.3 13.7 12.6 -4.6


Table 9 below indicates in 2013-14 the occupation with the highest number of serious injury claims (475 claims) and a high claim rate (31.3 claims per 1,000 all employed people) was the labourer occupation. The machinery operators and drivers occupation also recorded a high number of serious injury claims (192) and high claim rate (61.2 claims per 1,000 all employed people). Refer to section 5 – explanatory

notes for further information on the calculation of claim rates by occupation.

Table 9: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, accepted non-fatal serious claims and claim rate by occupation

Occupation Number of claims


Sales workers 34 15 15 22 21 -11.3

Machinery operators and drivers 290 131 283 204 192 -9.8

Labourers 396 597 497 516 475 4.7

Technicians and trades workers 96 65 68 58 76 -5.7

Professionals 15 4 4 8 11 -7.5

Managers 138 106 86 88 71 -15.3

Clerical and administrative workers 3 5 7 5 8 27.8


Total 974 930 960 910 872 -2.7


Occupation Claim rate (per 1,000 all employed people)


Sales workers 46.4 39.4 27 57.1 219.9 47.5

Machinery operators and drivers 75.6 30.4 63.8 58.7 61.2 -5.1

Labourers 17.9 25.4 23.9 26 31.3 15

Technicians and trades workers 41.6 36.5 33.9 17.4 32.5 -6

Professionals 5.2 1.9 2 6.9 10.2 18

Managers 3 3 2.2 2.8 2.5 -5.1

Clerical and administrative workers 0.4 0.7 1.1 0.9 1.7 38.9

Community and personal service workers 10.5 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Total 11.6 12.5 12.9 13.9 15.7 8


3.4 Mechanism of injury (non-fatal claims)Table 10 shows the most common mechanisms of injury for the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry over the 2009-10 to 2013-14 period were as follows:

• being hit by moving objects (23 per cent of all non-fatal claims for the industry)

• body stressing (21 per cent)

• falls, trips and slips (21 per cent).

These three mechanisms accounted for almost two-thirds of this industry’s claims.

Table 10: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, most prevalent mechanisms of injury for accepted non-fatal workers compensation claims by subdivision, 2009-10 to 2013-14

Industry subdivision Mechanism of injury Percentage of claims within subdivision (%)

Agriculture (7,392 claims)

Being hit by moving objects 23

Body stressing 21

Falls, trips and slips of a person 21

Aquaculture (146 claims)

Body stressing 32



Hitting objects with a part of the body 14

Forestry and logging (110 claims)

Body stressing 29



Fishing, hunting and trapping (85 claims)

Body stressing 21




Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services (85 claims)

Body stressing 20




Industry total (8,586 claims)


Body stressing 21


Source: QEIDB, Feb 2015, employee claims.


3.5 Agency of injury (non-fatal claims)Table 11 shows that the most common agencies of injury in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry over the five years to 2013-14 were as follows:

• non-powered hand tools, appliances and equipment (accounting for 21 per cent of all industry claims)

• mobile plant and transport (20 per cent)

• animal, human and biological agencies (17 per cent)

• environmental agencies (15 per cent).

Table 11: C Agriculture, forestry and fishing, most prevalent agencies of injury for accepted non-fatal workers compensation claims by subdivision, 2009-10 to 2013-14

Industry subdivision Agency of injury Percentage of claims within subdivision (%)

Agriculture (7,392 claims)

Non-powered hand tools, appliances and equipment 21

Mobile plant and transport 20

Animal, human and biological agencies 18

Environmental agencies 15

Aquaculture (146 claims)



Other and unspecified agencies 14


Materials and substances 10

Forestry and logging (110 claims)

Materials and substances 24


Fishing, hunting and trapping (85 claims)



Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services (853 claims)



Industry total (8,586 claims)



Animal, human and biological agencies 17


Source: QEIDB, Feb 2015, employee claims.


3.6 FatalitiesTable 12 details a breakdown of the accepted number of fatal workers’ compensation claims in Queensland by major industry groups, as administered under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003.

The agriculture, forestry and fishing industry recorded the third highest number of fatalities in Queensland for the five year period 2009-10 to 20013-14.

There were an average of five fatalities recorded for this sector each year.

Table 12: Accepted fatal workers compensation claims

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Average

Agriculture, forestry and fishing 3 8 6 5 3 5

Manufacturing 5 4 4 6 1 4

Electricity, gas, water and waste services 0 0 0 1 1 0

Construction 8 8 15 6 2 8

Wholesale trade 2 3 2 3 2 2

Retail trade 0 3 0 1 0 1

Accommodation and food services 1 1 0 0 0 0

Transport, postal and warehousing 8 9 9 7 7 8

Information media and telecommunications 0 0 0 0 0 0

Financial and insurance services 0 0 0 0 0 0

Rental, hiring and real estate services 0 0 1 1 0 0

Professional, scientific and technical services 1 1 2 0 0 1

Administrative and support services 1 2 4 1 0 2

Public administration and safety 2 3 1 5 2 3

Education and training 0 0 4 1 0 1

Health care and social assistance 0 2 2 1 2 1

Arts and recreation services 0 0 2 1 3 1

Other services 1 1 0 1 1 1

Queensland total# 35 46 55 43 26 41

Sources: QEIDB, Feb 2015, employee claims. Note # includes unknown and mining.

4. Inspectorate activity4.1 Events notifiedTable 13 shows the number of events notified against the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry over the five years to 2013-14. In 2013-14, events in the bodily harm/dangerous event category accounted for nearly 44 per cent of notified incidents in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry.

Table 13: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, events notified

Incident type Number of events notified

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Fatality 11 17 16 16 20

Grievous bodily harm# 117 138 129 80 56

Bodily harm/Dangerous event## 41 36 48 79 59

Industry total 169 191 193 175 135

Queensland total 7,136 8,644 7,002 5,165 5,121

Incident type Industry share (%)

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Incidents

Fatality 12.6 18.7 13.7 14.5 18.7

Grievous bodily harm# 2.7 2.4 3.3 4.7 3.9

Bodily harm/Dangerous event## 1.5 1.2 1.6 2.3 1.7

Industry total 2.4 2.2 2.8 3.4 2.6

Source: CISR, extracted August 2015 Notes: # admitted to hospital. ## all other incidents including dangerous events.


Note: Due to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 coming into effect on 1 January 2012, and related changes to the Office of Industrial Relations administrative practises, breaks in the series have occurred from this time. Caution should be exercised when comparing data for recent years.

The number of notified fatality events presented in Table 13 are the number of work related fatalities recorded under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 or Work Health and Safety Act 2011. It is the official record of notifications to the workplace health and safety regulator of workers (both employees and self-employed) who suffered a fatal injury at work as well as bystanders who suffered a fatal injury as a consequence of work activity. Bystander fatalities are not included if the bystander was considered to be at fault.

4.2 Inspectorate activityTable 14 indicates the number and type of inspector activity each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14. Proactive activities remain the focus for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) inspectors. In 2013-14, 50 per cent of activities were proactive, such as workshops, seminars and proactive workplace visits.

Table 14: Construction, inspectorate activities

Type of activity Number of inspector activities

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Number of workplace visits: reactive 122 169 140 122 97

Other intervention activities: reactive 964 1,085 750 532 640

Number of workplace visits: proactive 379 344 319 470 603

Number of workshops/presentations/seminars: proactive 133 88 101 68 136

Industry total 1,598 1,686 1,310 1,192 1,476


Type of activity Industry share (%)

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Number of workplace visits: reactive 5.4 6.5 5.6 7.2 13.7

Other intervention activities: reactive 6.8 8.8 6.3 6.2 10.1

Number of workplace visits: proactive 1.5 1.6 1.2 1.7 2.6

Number of workshops/presentations/seminars: proactive 2.6 2.2 2.3 2.4 4.9

Industry total 3.4 4.2 3 3 4.4

Source: CISR, extracted August 2015



4.3 Statutory noticesOver recent years, WHSQ inspectors have conducted more advisory interventions to build the capacity of Queensland businesses to improve their healthy and safe practices. Associated with this proactive advisory approach, there has been a general fall in the number of statutory notices issued across Queensland.

Table 15 shows the number of statutory notices issued to businesses in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry during the five years to 2013-14. In 2013-14, 85 per cent of notices issued to businesses in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry were improvement notices.

Table 15: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, statutory notices

Agriculture 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Improvement notice 295 196 198 248 143

Prohibition notice 35 24 28 32 28

Dangerous goods infringement notice 0 0 0 0 0

Infringement notice 3 1 4 1 0

Electrical safety protection 3 1 6 1 0

Unsafe equipment notice 0 0 0 0 0

Seizures 3 6 1 4 2

Dangerous goods directives 6 1 2 0 0

Subtotal 345 229 239 286 173

Agriculture, forestry and fishing support services 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14







Seizures 0 0 0 0 0


Subtotal 37 41 26 27 66

Aquaculture 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14







Seizures 0 0 0 0 0


Subtotal 5 12 12 4 5

Fishing, hunting and trapping 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14







Seizures 0 0 0 0 0


Subtotal 8 3 7 31 1


Forestry and logging 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14







Seizures 0 0 0 0 2


Subtotal 2 3 8 13 10

Industry total 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14







Seizures 3 6 1 4 4


Total agriculture, forestry and fishing 397 288 292 361 255


Industry as a proportion of Queensland (%)

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Notices to agriculture, forestry and fishing 3.1 3.3 3.1 5.1 4.4

Source: CISR, extracted August 2015


5. Explanatory notes Accepted claimsAccepted claims are those where an insurer has accepted liability for the claim at some stage of the claims history. Accepted claims may be subject to development over time, thus the category they are reported in may change over time. Claims for a serious injury are those involving one or more weeks off work.

Accepted claims include the categories:

• accepted non-fatal injury claims (including the category ‘accepted non-fatal serious injury claims’)

• accepted non-fatal disease and other claims

• accepted fatal workers’ compensation claims.

Claim rateDue to data availability, a different source of data is used when calculating claim rates for occupations.

1. The claim rates for the type of claim by occupation reported in Table 4 and Table 9 are based on employment by occupation data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in the quarterly publication, Labour Force, Australia Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003. The claim rate is derived using the following formula:

Number of claims (by occupation) x 1,000 = Claim rate per 1,000 all employed people

Number of all employed people (by occupation)


2. The claim rates for the type of claim by industry reported in Tables 5, 6, 7 and 8 are based on the number of employees covered by Workers’ Compensation. This data excludes most self-employed people who are not required to participate in Workers’ Compensation and is considered a more accurate representation of the claim rate by only including those eligible to lodge a claim. The claim rate is derived using the following formula:

Number of claims (by industry) x 1,000 = Claim rate per 1,000 employees covered by Workers’ CompensationNumber of employees covered by Workers’ compensation

EventsNotified events are categorised into four types. Types 1 and 2 represent ‘incidents’. Types 3 and 4 represent ‘complaints’.

• Type 1 - workplace incidents causing death or grievous bodily harm of workers or members of the public, or exposure to substances likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm.

• Type 2 - workplace incidents causing bodily harm or dangerous events.

• Type 3 - complaints which involve significant risks to health and safety.

• Type 4 - other complaints.

Full-time workersFull-time workers are people who usually work 35 hours or more per week in all jobs, or although usually working less than 35 hours a week, actually worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.

Part-time workersPart-time workers are those who usually work less than 35 hours per week, and either did so during the reference week, or were not at work in the reference week.

Notices• Statutory notices represent both notices issued as a result of reactive investigations and notices issued as a result of proactive

assessments.

• Data in this report may differ from other data published on statutory notices due to the date of extraction from the database.

• Due to various legislative changes occurring over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14, caution should be exercised when comparing changes in data items over this period. The various data items, relevant legislation changes and some of the impacts are explained below:

— ‘Dangerous goods directives’ and ‘Dangerous goods infringement notices’ were issued to address safety in the workplace until the introduction of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) on 1 January 2012. From this time, notices where a dangerous and/or hazardous substance is involved are recorded under ‘infringement notices’ or other notices as applicable.

— ‘Infringement notices’ are on-the-spot fines for contravention of either WHS legislation or the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (the ES Act). From 1 January 2012, this data includes infringement notices where a dangerous and/or hazardous substance is involved.

— ‘Seizures’ includes a number of notice types, all relating to when something (e.g. plant, tool or workplace) is seized for evidence, or where a workplace which is the subject of investigation is not to be disturbed. Seizure notices are issued under either the WHS Act, ES Act or, until 1 January 2012, the Dangerous Goods Safety Management Act 2001.

— ‘Electrical safety protection notices’ and ‘unsafe equipment notices’ are issued by WHSQ inspectors under the ES Act. The ‘electrical safety protection notice’ is the equivalent of the ‘WHSQ prohibition notice’ and the ‘unsafe equipment notice’ is also the equivalent of the ‘prohibition notice’ but where it relates specifically to equipment, as opposed to work processes.

— ‘Improvement notices’ require an improvement in health and safety by a specified time and can be served under either the WHS Act or ES Act.

— ‘Prohibition notices’ prohibit a certain work activity or use of certain equipment and can be served under WHS legislation only.

Site visitsSite visits represent the number of times a workplace was visited by WHSQ staff. One or more site visits may take place as part of any given investigation, assessment or advisory. Advisories are an educational or industry information activity undertaken by an inspector.

Workers covered Covered workers include the ABS categories of employee and own-account workers.

The material presented in this publication is distributed by the Queensland Government for information only and is subject to change without notice. The Queensland Government disclaims all responsibility and liability (including liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs incurred as a result of the information being inaccurate or incomplete in any way and for any reason. © State of Queensland 2017. PN12150

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