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The deadliest jobs in Australia revealed

Tamika Seeto
·Finance Reporter
Updated ·2-min read
Most dangerous jobs in Australia concept. Construction worker and Australian people on the street.
A new report has revealed Australia’s most dangerous jobs. These are the workers most at risk. (Source: Getty)

A new report has revealed Australia’s most dangerous jobs, with machinery operators and drivers most at risk.

Workplace deaths have dropped 35 per cent over the past 10 years, according to the report by Safe Work Australia. In 2021, 169 Australian workers lost their lives at work.

The vast majority of deaths were male workers (96 per cent), while workers aged 55-64 accounted for more deaths than any other age group.

According to the government report, the industries with the most fatalities were the transport, postal and warehousing sector (31 per cent), the agriculture forestry and fishing sector (20 per cent), and the construction industry (14 per cent).

The main causes of death were vehicle collisions (38 per cent), being hit by a moving object (14 per cent) and falling from a height (11 per cent). Seven in 10 fatalities involved a vehicle.

The most deaths occurred in New South Wales, where 46 workers lost their lives, followed by Queensland (43 workers), Victoria (34 workers), Western Australia (20 workers) and South Australia (16 workers).

There were a smaller number of deaths in Tasmania (5 workers), the Northern Territory (4 workers) and the ACT (1 worker).

The 8 most dangerous jobs

The most dangerous job was machinery operator and driver, which accounted for 40 per cent of deaths by occupation in 2021. This included road and rail drivers, mobile plant operators, and machine and stationary plant operators.

This was followed by labourers, which included farm, forestry and garden workers, as well as construction and mining labourers.

The top eight most dangerous jobs were:

  1. Machinery operators and drivers - 68 deaths

  2. Labourers - 34 deaths

  3. Managers (including farmers and farm managers) - 24 deaths

  4. Technicians and trades workers - 22 deaths

  5. Community and personal services workers - 12 deaths

  6. Professionals - 6 deaths

  7. Sales workers - 2 deaths

  8. Clerical and administrative workers - 1 death

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