The workforce

This industry grouping covers a wide range of activities, separated into eight groups.

• Residential building construction
• Non-residential building construction
• Heavy and civil engineering construction
• Other construction services
• Land development and site preparation services
• Building structure services
• Building installation services
• Building completion services

9% of the total Tasmanian workforce

8 4% of workers are employed full time

Building completion services is the largest employing group

Half the workforce is under 35 years old

The injuries

710 injuries across the industry group in 2018

37% of injuries over the last ten years resulted in at least one week off work

9 serious injuries per million hours worked, close to the state average of 8.7

30% decrease in serious injury frequency rate in the last ten years; higher than the statewide decrease of 16% in the same period

The people

Workers aged 55-64 had the highest serious injury frequency rate

Occupations with the highest percentage of serious injuries

• 22% Bricklayers, carpenters and joiners
• 13% Miscellaneous labourers
• 12% Construction and mining labourers

Building installation services reported the highest number of injuries

Non-residential construction had the highest serious injury frequency rate with 39 serious injuries per million hours worked

The causes

The most common causes of injury across the industry

• Body stressing
• Falls, slips and trips
• Being hit by moving objects

Action areas

Priority conditions and causes identified in the WorkSafe Strategic Plan 2018-2023 relevant to the industry:

• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Hazardous manual tasks
• Slips, trips and falls
• Mental health conditions