Northern Territory authorities say the healthcare sector is one of the most dangerous to work in. 

NT WorkSafe has published the 2020-21 key work health and safety statistics for the Northern Territory. 

The statistics provide information on the workers compensation claims made in the Northern Territory, including information on work related fatalities that occurred in that period currently under investigation.

The stats show that in 2020-21, 2,392 workers compensation claims were made, 31.7 per cent which were for serious injuries.

The Territory saw 7,612 weeks worth of lost time due to injury, and over $41.7 million in total compensation claims costs.

The top five industries with the highest proportion of serious injuries are:

  • Health and Community Services

  • Construction

  • Government Administration and Defence

  • Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

  • Retail Trade

The Northern Territory is one of the only jurisdictions in Australia to have health and community services as its most dangerous industry. 

One in five of the injuries in this field were suffered by registered nurses, while over 10 per cent were injuries to special care workers, and another 10 per cent were welfare and community workers. 

Main mechanism of serious injuries was found to be body stressing, followed by being hit by moving objects, as well as falls, trips and slips. 

Of the seven work-related fatalities in all NT industries, four were worker fatalities and three were fatalities suffered by bystanders.