WorkSafe data reveals extent of fatalities, injuries in Barwon South West region

Three people died at a Greater Geelong workplace last year, and close to 1000 reported injuries, new data has revealed.

New data has revealed the number of people who died while on the job in Greater Geelong, and how many filed injury claims in 2022.

Workplaces are claiming the lives of Geelong workers, with three employees killed on the job in 12 months.

New WorkSafe data also found Greater Geelong workers reported close to 1000 job-related injuries in 2022.

Healthcare and social assistance industry workers were found to be the most likely to make a workplace injury claim.

An average of about three workplace injury claims were made per day in the Barwon South West region last year.

The Barwon South West region – including Colac Otway, Corangamite, Geelong, Queenscliffe, Surf Coast, Glenelg, Moyne, Southern Grampians and Warrnambool – also recorded five workplace fatalities over the same period.

Regional Victoria recorded 26 fatalities in 2022 – Greater Geelong recorded the second highest amount, with three deaths.

WorkSafe Victoria chief executive Colin Radford said there was no such thing as unavoidable workplace harm. Picture: Alison Wynd

The deaths were spread across the industries of transport, postal and warehousing, healthcare and social assistance, and “other services”.

Two of the deaths were from long term contact with chemicals or substances, while the third related to a vehicle accident.

WorkSafe chief executive Colin Radford said employers and workers should understand there was “no such thing as unavoidable workplace harm”.

“Every single work-related death and injury in 2022 could have been prevented, along with the pain and suffering endured by the families, friends and colleagues of those impacted,” he said.

“It’s incredibly frustrating that we are still seeing the same type of incidents happen in workplaces were the hazards and controls should be well known.”

Greater Geelong recorded the highest number of workplace injury claims in regional Victoria by local government area in 2022, with 983.

Surf Coast recorded 119 claims, while Queenscliff recorded 14.

The Barwon South West region recorded the highest number of workplace injury claims in 2022 compared to other regional areas, with 1659.

The most common injury type was to the musculoskeletal system, with 521 claims in Barwon South West in 2022.

Traumatic tendon, muscle and ligament injury was the second most common type (304), followed by mental injury (260) and wounds, lacerations and amputations (253).

The Geelong Advertiser reported a number of workplace incidents last year.

In October, WorkSafe ruled an incident where a truck driver was seriously injured when hit by the tailgate of his rig at an Ocean Grove garden supply business an accident.

A mechanical issue with the tailgate is understood to have caused it to swing unexpectedly.

Also in October, a male worker sustained serious lower body injuries after a scuba tank exploded as it was filled in Drumcondra.

The blast was so loud it could be heard from kilometres away from the site.

Originally published as WorkSafe data reveals extent of fatalities, injuries in Barwon South West region