Electricity, gas, water and waste services industry ... · 4 | Electricity, gas, water and waste...

Office of Industrial Relations

Electricity, gas, water and waste services industry

Statistical update 2009-10 to 2013-14

2 | Electricity, gas, water and waste services industry — Statistical update — 2009-10 to 2013-14

1. 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 ...................................................................... 9

3.1. Accepted non-fatal claims by occupations .............................................................9

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

3.3. Serious claims by industry and occupation ......................................................... 14

3.4. Mechanism of injury (non-fatal claims) ............................................................... 15

3.5. Agency of injury (non-fatal claims) ...................................................................... 16

3.6. Fatalities ............................................................................................................. 18

4. Inspectorate activity .................................................................................................... 19

4.1 Events notified ...................................................................................................... 19

4.2 Inspectorate activity .............................................................................................20

4.3 Statutory notices .................................................................................................. 21

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

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

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

Events ........................................................................................................................23

Full-time workers .......................................................................................................23

Notices .......................................................................................................................23

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

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

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

Table of contents


1. Summary of findings1.1. Labour market • Employment grew 4.8 per cent per annum for the electricity,

gas, water and waste services industry over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14, significantly higher than the growth rate recorded for all Queensland industries at 1.2 per cent per annum.

• The electricity, gas, water and waste services industry is characterised by a very high rate of full-time employment (90 per cent), significantly higher than the rate of full-time employment for all Queensland industries at 71 per cent.

1.2. Accepted workers’ compensation claims

Occupations

• In 2013-14, employment in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry was highest for the following occupation groups:

– technicians and trades workers (31 per cent)

– professionals (19 per cent)

– machinery operators and drivers (12 per cent).

Together these occupations accounted for 62 per cent of employment in the industry.

• The workers with the highest number of claims and claim rates were:

– technicians and trades workers (384 claims and a claim rate of 37.2 claims per 1000 all employed people)

– machinery operators and drivers (246 claims and a claim rate of 62.9)

– labourers (234 claims and a claim rate of 72.5).

Non-fatal claims and claim rates

• In 2013-14, the claim rate for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry, at 32.1 claims per 1,000 workers, was similar to the rate for Queensland (36).

• The rate of reduction in the number of claims for the industry and for Queensland over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14 were about the same (a fall of 6.7 per cent for the industry compared with a fall of 6.1 per cent for Queensland).

Serious claims

• The serious claim rate for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry at 7.8 claims per 1,000 employees was significantly less than the rate for all Queensland industries (12.6 claims per 1000 employees).

• The rate of serious claim in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry fell at a rate similar to that for Queensland over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14 – a fall of 4.4 per cent per annum for the industry and 4.6 per cent per annum for all Queensland industries.

Mechanisms of injury

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

• body stressing (35 per cent)

• fall, trips and slips (17 per cent)

• vehicles incidents and other (14 per cent)

• being hit by moving objects (13 per cent)

• hitting objects with a part of the body (12 per cent).

Agencies of injury

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

• non-powered hand tools, appliances and equipment (23 per cent),

• mobile plant and transport (18 per cent)

• other and unspecified agencies (18 per cent)

• materials and substances (15 per cent)

• environmental agencies (13 per cent).

Fatalities

• Workers in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry have a low risk of fatality. Over the five years to 2013-14, there were only two fatalities recorded – one in 2012-13 and one in 2013-14.

1.3. Inspectorate activityIn 2013-14:

• workplace visits, intervention activities, workshops, presentations and seminars by inspectors to the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry accounted for 1.6 per cent of inspector activities in Queensland. This is significantly less than the industry’s share of notified events (9.6 per cent), as shown in Table 13

• events in the bodily harm/dangerous event category accounted for 96 per cent of notified events for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry

• proactive activities remain the focus for inspectors with 67 per cent of activities being proactive/educative in nature

• the share of statutory notices issued to businesses in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry was 1.3. This was in line with the industry’s share of employees in Queensland (1.4 per cent)

• 77 per cent of notices issued to businesses in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry were improvement notices.

Public administration and safety industry


2. Labour Market2.1. Business SizeTable 1 shows the structure of businesses in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry. There is a high proportion of small businesses in this industry (96 per cent), consistent with that across the whole Queensland economy (97 per cent). Compared to all of Queensland, electricity, gas, water and waste services had a lower proportion of non-employing small businesses and a higher proportion of medium and large businesses.

Table 1: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, size of business, Queensland, June 2014

Industry subdivision Number of businesses by size

Small Medium Large

Non employing

1-19 Sub total 20-199 200+ Total

Electricity supply 53 39 92 9 3 104

Gas supply 32 19 51 0 0 51

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 107 66 173 7 4 184

Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 352 362 714 21 3 738

Electricity, gas, water and waste services 544 486 1,030 37 10 1,077

Queensland total 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 Sub total 20-199 200+ Total

Electricity supply 51.0 37.5 88.5 8.7 2.9 100

Gas supply 62.7 37.3 100.0 0.0 0.0 100

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 58.2 35.9 94.0 3.8 2.2 100

Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 47.7 49.1 96.7 2.8 0.4 100

Electricity, gas, water and waste services 50.5 45.1 95.6 3.4 0.9 100

Queensland total 61.4 35.9 97.3 2.6 0.1 100

Source: ABS, Counts of Australian businesses, including entries and exits, Jun 2010 to Jun 2014, Cat. No. 8165.0.


2.2. Workers covered by workers’ compensationIn 2013-14, 99 per cent of workers in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry were covered by workers’ compensation (Table 2), significantly higher than the Queensland average (90 per cent).

From 2009-10 to 2013-14, the industry experienced strong employment growth - a rate of 4.8 per cent per annum. By comparison, all Queensland industries recorded a much slower employment growth rate of 1.2 per cent per annum.

Employment growth was highest in the following subdivisions - gas supply (3,970 people or 35.1 per cent per annum), electricity distribution (2,082 or 12.2 per cent per annum) and waste treatment, disposal and remediation services (1,095 people or 14.1 per cent per annum).

Table 2a: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, employees covered by workers’ compensation

Industry subdivision and group Employees covered by workers’ compensation

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Average annual change (% per

annum)

Electricity supply 14,405 17,250 21,539 16,742 15,801 2.3

Electricity generation 3,406 3,700 6,600 5,161 3,924 3.6

Electricity transmission 183 892 1,000 521 420 23.2

Electricity distribution 3,558 4,204 6,034 3,972 5,544 11.7

On selling electricity and electricity market operation 736 689 387 624 796 2.0

Gas supply 1,702 1,928 2,428 2,387 5,671 35.1

Gas supply 1,702 1,928 2,428 2,387 5,671 35.1

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 5,299 8,979 8,691 5,174 4,790 -2.5


Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 4,803 4,261 6,847 4,460 6,716 8.7

Waste collection services 2,926 3,248 4,643 3,189 4,052 8.5

Waste treatment, disposal and remediation services 1,572 610 1,840 960 2,570 13.1

Electricity, gas, water and waste services 26,520 32,583 39,699 28,883 33,095 5.7

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

Source: QEIDB, Feb 2015, employee claims.

Table 2b: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, employed people

Industry subdivision and group All employed people


annum)





On selling electricity and electricity market operation 736 689 387 624 796 2.0

Gas supply 1,702 1,928 2,544 2,463 5,671 35.1

Gas supply 1,702 1,928 2,544 2,463 5,671 35.1





Waste treatment, disposal and remediation services 1,572 610 2,424 1,060 2,666 14.1


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

Source: ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003.


Table 2c: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, proportion of employed people covered by workers’ compensation

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

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

Electricity supply 98.3 98.9 99.3 97.9 99.4 1.1

Electricity generation 100.0 97.6 100.0 97.9 100.0 0.0

Electricity transmission 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Electricity distribution 100.0 97.8 97.4 100.0 98.3 -1.7

On selling electricity and electricity market operation

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Gas supply 100.0 100.0 95.4 96.9 100.0 0.0

Gas supply 100.0 100.0 95.4 96.9 100.0 0.0

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 91.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 9.0


Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 90.9 97.8 86.0 84.9 96.0 5.1

Waste collection services 85.9 97.2 89.7 82.2 95.6 9.7

Waste treatment, disposal and remediation services 100.0 100.0 75.9 90.5 96.4 -3.6

Electricity, gas, water and waste services 95.5 99.1 96.6 96.0 98.9 3.4

Queensland 87.3 88.2 89.4 89.3 89.8 2.5

Sources: QEIDB, Feb 2015, employee claims. ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003. Notes: * percentage point change.


2.3. Full-time and part-time employmentIn 2013-14, there were 33,473 workers in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry, the majority of which were working full-time (90 per cent) (Table 3). At this time, the electricity supply subdivision employed the most full-time workers (14,154 people), followed by waste collection, treatment and disposal services (6,008 people) and gas supply (5,231 people). Together, these sectors accounted for almost 85 per cent of full-time employment in the industry.

Over the 2009-10 to 2013-14 period, full-time employment in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry grew 3.4 per cent per annum (or 3,721 people) compared to a growth of 24 per cent per annum (or 1,982 people) in part-time employment. By comparison, full time employment across all Queensland industries grew by 0.8 per cent per annum and part-time employment grew by 2.1 per cent per annum (Table 3).

In 2013-14, there were 3,435 part-time workers in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry of which 50.8 per cent (or 1,744 people) were working in the electricity supply subdivision.

Table 3a: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, number employed full-time

Industry subdivision and group Employed full-time


annum)





On selling electricity and electricity market operation 736 397 297 530 504 -9.0

Gas supply 1,621 1,928 2,544 2,174 5,231 34.0

Gas supply 1,621 1,928 2,544 2,174 5,231 34.0







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


Table 3b: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, number employed part-time

Industry subdivision and group Employed part-time


annum)

Electricity supply 612 1,038 850 1,071 1,744 29.9

Electricity generation 177 0 265 613 288 13.0

Electricity transmission 0 0 0 0 0 N/A

Electricity distribution 320 74 0 192 503 12.0


0 292 90 94 293 N/A

Gas supply 81 0 0 289 440 52.7

Gas supply 81 0 0 289 440 52.7

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 198 1,218 497 433 262 7.2

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 198 1,218 497 433 262 7.2

Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 562 345 916 507 990 15.2

Waste collection services 378 267 465 507 583 11.4

Waste treatment, disposal and remediation services 82 78 452 0 407 49.4


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

Source: ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003. Note: N/A = not applicable.


Table 3c: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, total number employed

Industry subdivision and group Employed total


annum)






736 689 387 624 796 2.0

Gas supply 1,702 1,928 2,544 2,463 5,671 35.1

Gas supply 1,702 1,928 2,544 2,463 5,671 35.1







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


Table 3d: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, full-time workers as a proportion of total (%)

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

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

Electricity supply 95.8 94.0 96.1 93.7 89.0 -1.8

Electricity generation 94.8 100.0 96.0 88.4 92.7 -0.6

Electricity transmission 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0

Electricity distribution 91.0 98.3 100.0 95.2 91.1 0.0


100.0 57.7 76.8 84.9 63.3 -10.8

Gas supply 95.2 100.0 100.0 88.3 92.2 -0.8

Gas supply 95.2 100.0 100.0 88.3 92.2 -0.8

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 96.6 86.4 94.3 91.6 94.5 -0.5

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 96.6 86.4 94.3 91.6 94.5 -0.5

Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 89.4 92.1 88.5 90.3 85.9 -1.0

Waste collection services 88.9 92.0 91.0 86.9 86.3 -0.8


Electricity, gas, water and waste services 94.8 92.1 94.3 92.4 89.7 -1.4

Queensland 71.6 71.4 71.7 71.5 70.6 -0.4



3. Accepted workers’ compensation claims 3.1. Accepted non-fatal claims by occupationsTable 4 below outlines the distribution of claims and employment by major occupation group. In 2013-14, employment in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry was highest for the occupation groups:

– technicians and trades workers (10,314 people or 31 per cent)

– professionals (6,412 people or 19 per cent)

– machinery operators and drivers (3,913 people or 12 per cent).

In 2013-14, the occupations with the highest number of claims and claim rates were –

– technicians and trades workers (384 claims and claim rate of 37.2 claims per 1,000 all employed people)

– machinery operators and drivers (246 claims and claim rate of 62.9 claims per 1,000 all employed people)

– labourers (234 claims and claim rate of 72.5 claims per 1,000 all employed people).

Table 4a: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, accepted non-fatal claims by occupation

Occupation Number of claims


annum)

Labourers 170 313 358 271 234 8.3

Machinery operators and drivers 267 250 285 235 246 -2.0

Technicians and trades workers 488 541 455 473 384 -5.8

Clerical and administrative workers 76 115 82 78 65 -3.8

Sales workers 10 11 10 9 6 -12.0

Professionals 76 74 65 64 49 -10.4

Managers 30 39 34 34 25 -4.5

Community and personal service workers 4 2 2 0 1 -29.3

Total 1,123 1,364 1,305 1,206 1,061 -1.4


Table 4b: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, employed people by occupation

Occupation All employed people


annum)

Labourers 1,037 3,188 2,956 1,773 3,228 32.8

Machinery operators and drivers 3,833 4,071 5,123 4,146 3,913 0.5

Technicians and trades workers 9,273 9,941 13,272 9,868 10,314 2.7

Clerical and administrative workers 4,438 6,393 7,943 5,584 5,357 4.8

Sales workers 531 1,167 499 577 528 -0.1

Professionals 5,854 6,124 7,772 4,419 6,412 2.3

Managers 2,804 1,892 3,390 3,736 3,722 7.3

Community and personal service workers 0 89 140 0 0 N/A

Total 27,769 32,863 41,094 30,101 33,472 4.8



Table 4c: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, claim rate for all accepted non-fatal claims by occupation

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


annum)

Labourers 163.9 98.2 121.1 152.9 72.5 -18.4

Machinery operators and drivers 69.7 61.4 55.6 56.7 62.9 -2.5

Technicians and trades workers 52.6 54.4 34.3 47.9 37.2 -8.3

Clerical and administrative workers 17.1 18.0 10.3 14.0 12.1 -8.3

Sales workers 18.9 9.4 20.0 15.6 11.4 -11.9

Professionals 13.0 12.1 8.4 14.5 7.6 -12.4

Managers 10.7 20.6 10.0 9.1 6.7 -11.0

Community and personal service workers N/A 22.4 14.3 N/A N/A N/A

Total 40.4 41.5 31.8 40.1 31.7 -5.9

Sources: QEIDB, Feb 2015, employee claims. ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003.


3.2. Non-fatal claims and claim ratesTable 5 provides details about the number and claim rate for the total non-fatal claims (injury plus disease claims) of workers in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry. The number of claims has fallen by 1.4 per cent per annum for the industry and 4.3 per cent per annum for all Queensland industries over the five years 2009-10 to 2013-14.

Over the same period, the claim rate for total non-fatal claims has fallen slightly more for the industry than for all Queensland industries (a fall of 6.7 per cent per annum for electricity, gas, water and waste services compared to a fall of 6.1 per cent per annum for Queensland industries). The non-fatal claim rate for electricity, gas, water and waste services at 32.1 claims per 1,000 workers was similar to the state average at 36.0 in 2013-14.

Table 5: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, total accepted non-fatal claims and claim rate

Industry subdivision and group Number of claims


annum)

Electricity supply 625 647 587 606 492 -5.8


Electricity transmission 26 3 4 1 1 -55.7

Electricity distribution 597 536 471 527 411 -8.9


1 21 23 22 22 116.6

Gas supply 8 23 15 14 18 22.5

Gas supply 8 23 15 14 18 22.5

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 40 294 283 216 183 46.3


Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 450 400 420 370 368 -4.9


Waste treatment, disposal and remediation services 414 54 40 36 47 -42.0

Electricity, gas, water and waste services 1,123 1,364 1,305 1,206 1,061 -1.4

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

Industry subdivision and group Claim rate (per 1,000 employees)


annum)



Electricity transmission 142.5 3.4 4.0 1.9 2.4 -64.1


On selling electricity and electricity market operation 1.4 30.5 59.4 35.3 27.6 112.4

Gas supply 4.7 11.9 6.2 5.9 3.2 -9.4

Gas supply 4.7 11.9 6.2 5.9 3.2 -9.4







Queensland 46.4 45.2 43.3 40.2 36.0 -6.1



During 2013-14, there were 874 accepted non-fatal injury claims compared to 187 non-fatal disease and other claims (Table 6 and Table 7).

Over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14, the total number of accepted non-fatal injury claims made by workers in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry fell by 2.6 per cent per annum, compared to a reduction of five per cent per annum recorded for all Queensland industries.

The claim rate for accepted non-fatal injuries for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry at 26.4 claims per 1,000 workers was below that recorded for Queensland (30.3 claims per 1 000 employees) in 2013-14. The claim rate for accepted non-fatal diseases was the same for the industry as for Queensland at 5.7 claims per 1,000 workers.

Over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14, the industry claim rate for non-fatal injuries fell by 7.9 per cent per annum, while the claim rate for non-fatal diseases remained constant.

Table 6: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, accepted non-fatal injury claims and claim rate


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

change (% per annum)

Electricity supply 525 525 495 490 391 -7.1





1 19 20 18 13 89.9

Gas supply 7 19 11 12 17 24.8

Gas supply 7 19 11 12 17 24.8



Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 405 348 372 325 317 -5.9



Electricity, gas, water and waste services 973 1,132 1,108 1,016 874 -2.6

Queensland 77,486 76,371 75,598 69,072 63,001 -5.0



annum)



Electricity transmission 120.5 2.2 3.0 0 0 N/A


On selling electricity and electricity market operation 1.4 27.6 51.6 28.9 16.3 86.2

Gas supply 4.1 9.9 4.5 5.0 3.0 -7.6

Gas supply 4.1 9.9 4.5 5.0 3.0 -7.6







Queensland 40.2 38.6 37.2 33.8 30.3 -6.8



Table 7: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, number of accepted non-fatal disease and other claims and claim rate



annum)

Electricity supply 100 122 92 116 101 0.2

Electricity generation 0 25 25 18 22 N/A



On selling electricity and electricity market operation 0 2 3 4 9 N/A

Gas supply 1 4 4 2 1 0.0

Gas supply 1 4 4 2 1 0.0



Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 45 52 48 45 51 3.2



Electricity, gas, water and waste services 150 232 197 190 187 5.7

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



annum)


Electricity generation 0 6.8 3.8 3.5 5.6 N/A

Electricity transmission 21.9 1.1 1.0 1.9 2.4 -42.6


On selling electricity and electricity market operation 0 2.9 7.7 6.4 11.3 N/A

Gas supply 0.6 2.1 1.6 0.8 0.2 -26.0

Gas supply 0.6 2.1 1.6 0.8 0.2 -26.0






Electricity, gas, water and waste services 5.7 7.1 5.0 6.6 5.7 0.0

Queensland 6.2 6.6 6.1 6.3 5.7 -1.9

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


3.3. Serious claims by industry and occupationIn 2013-14, the serious claim rate for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry, at 7.8 claims per 1,000 employees was significantly below the rate for all Queensland industries (12.6 claims per 1,000 employees). Both the industry claim rate and the claim rate for Queensland recorded similar reductions over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14 (4.4 per cent per annum for the industry and 4.6 per cent per annum for Queensland).

Table 8: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, number of accepted non-fatal serious claims and claim rate

Industry subdivision Number of claims


annum)

Electricity Supply 110 94 97 101 78 -8.2

Gas Supply 2 6 3 5 5 25.7

Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Services 13 81 59 44 43 34.9

Waste Collection, Treatment and Disposal Services 122 127 127 116 132 2.0

Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services 247 308 286 266 258 1.1

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

Industry subdivision Claim rate (per 1,000 employees)

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

change (% per annum)

Electricity Supply 7.6 5.4 4.5 6.0 4.9 -10.3

Gas Supply 1.2 3.1 1.2 2.1 0.9 -6.9

Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Services 2.5 9.0 6.8 8.5 9.0 38.3

Waste Collection, Treatment and Disposal Services 25.4 29.8 18.5 26.0 19.7 -6.2

Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services 9.3 9.5 7.2 9.2 7.8 -4.4

Queensland 15.2 14.6 14.3 13.7 12.6 -4.6



Table 9 shows that in 2013-14, machinery operators and drivers had the highest number of serious claims and a high claim rate recorded for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry.

Table 9: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, number of accepted non-fatal serious claims and claim rate by occupation

Occupation Number of claims


annum)

Labourers 41 89 83 60 51 5.6

Machinery operators and drivers 88 82 90 89 93 1.4

Technicians and trades workers 80 92 74 94 79 -0.3

Clerical and administrative workers 15 19 11 11 11 -7.5

Sales workers 1 2 3 1 0 N/A

Professionals 15 10 16 3 9 -12.0

Managers 5 8 5 2 6 4.7

Community and personal service workers 2 0 0 0 1 -15.9

Total 247 308 286 266 258 1.1

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


annum)

Labourers 39.5 27.9 28.1 33.9 15.8 -20.5

Machinery operators and drivers 23.0 20.1 17.6 21.5 23.8 0.9

Technicians and trades workers 8.6 9.3 5.6 9.5 7.7 -2.9

Clerical and administrative workers 3.4 3.0 1.4 2.0 2.1 -11.7

Sales workers 1.9 1.7 6.0 1.7 N/A N/A

Professionals 2.6 1.6 2.1 0.7 1.4 -14.0

Managers 1.8 4.2 1.5 0.5 1.6 -2.5

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

Total 8.9 9.4 7.0 8.8 7.7 -3.5

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

3.4. Mechanism of injury (non-fatal claims)Table 10 shows the most common mechanisms of injury for electricity, gas, water and waste services for the period 2009-10 to 2013-14 were:

• body stressing (35 per cent)

• fall, trips and slips (17 per cent)

• vehicles incidents and other (14 per cent)

• being hit by moving objects (13 per cent)

• hitting objects with a part of the body (12 per cent).


Table 10: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, most prevalent mechanisms of injury for accepted non-fatal workers compensation claims by subdivision

Industry subdivision Mechanism of injury Percentage of claims within

subdivision (%)

Electricity supply (2,957 claims)

Body stressing 33

Falls, trips and slips of a person 16

Vehicle incidents and other 16

Gas supply (78 claims)

Body stressing 35


Hitting objects with a part of the body 15

Being hit by moving objects 15


Water supply, sewerage and drainage services (1,016 claims)

Body stressing 36





Waste collection, treatment and disposal services (2,008 claims)

Body stressing 38




Industry total (6,059 claims)

Body stressing 35






3.5. Agency of injury (non-fatal claims)Table 11 shows that the most common specified agencies of injury for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry over the five years to 2013-14 were:

• non-powered hand tools, appliances and equipment (23 per cent)

• mobile plant and transport (18 per cent)

• other and unspecified agencies (18 per cent)

• materials and substances (15 per cent)

• environmental agencies (13 per cent).


Table 11: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, 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

(%)

Electricity supply (2,957 claims)

Other and unspecified agencies 22

Non-powered hand tools, appliances and equipment 18

Materials and substances 15

Mobile plant and transport 15

Environmental agencies 13

Gas supply (78 claims)

Powered equipment, tools and appliances 29



Water supply, sewerage and drainage services (1,016 claims)






Waste collection, treatment and disposal services (2,008 claims)






Industry total (6,059 claims)








3.6. FatalitiesTable 12 details a breakdown of the number of accepted fatal workers’ compensation claims for all industries in Queensland. There was one fatality recorded in two out of the five years reported for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry.

Table 12: Accepted fatal workers compensation claims

Industry Number of accepted fatal 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 0.8

Queensland total# 35 46 55 43 26 41

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


4. Inspectorate activity4.1 Events notifiedThe number of events notified to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry for the period 2009-10 to 2013-14 can be seen in Table 13.

The electricity, gas, water and waste services industry accounted for 9.6 per cent of notified events in Queensland in 2013-14. Events in the bodily harm/dangerous event category accounted for 96 per cent of notified events in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry in 2013-14.

Table 13: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, events notified

Incident type Number of events notified

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

Fatality 1 0 3 3 1

Grievous bodily harm# 37 78 61 36 17

Bodily harm/dangerous event## 31 77 120 222 476

Total industry 69 155 184 261 494

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

Fatality 1.1 0.0 2.6 2.7 0.9

Grievous bodily harm# 0.8 1.4 1.5 2.1 1.2

Bodily harm/dangerous event## 1.2 2.7 4.1 6.6 13.3

Total industry 1.0 1.8 2.6 5.1 9.6

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 department’s administrative practices, 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 shows that total inspector activities for the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry accounted for 1.6 per cent of all inspector activities in Queensland.

Proactive activities remain the focus for inspectors and 67 per cent of activities were proactive or educative in nature in 2013-14.

Table 14: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, type and number of inspectorate activities

Type of event Number of inspector activities

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

Number of workplace visits: reactive 42 41 74 47 16

Other intervention activities: reactive 228 183 250 362 157

Number of workplace visits: proactive 120 192 384 452 329

Number of workshops/presentations /seminars: proactive 34 34 39 18 21

Total industry 424 450 747 879 523


Type of event Industry share (%)

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

Number of workplace visits: Reactive 1.9 1.6 3.0 2.8 2.3

Other intervention activities: Reactive 1.6 1.5 2.1 4.2 2.5

Number of workplace visits: Proactive 0.5 0.9 1.5 1.7 1.4

Number of workshops/presentations /seminars: proactive 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.8

Total industry 0.9 1.1 1.7 2.2 1.6

Source: CISR, extracted August 2015. Note: Due to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 coming into effect on 1 January, 2012, and related changes to the department’s administrative practices, breaks in the series have occurred from this time. Caution should be exercised when comparing data for recent years.


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

There were 74 notices issued to businesses in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry in Queensland in 2013-14, accounting for just 1.3 per cent of all statutory notices. Of the notices issued to this industry, 57, or 77 per cent, were improvement notices.

Table 15: Electricity, gas, water and waste services, statutory notices by industry subdivision

Industry subdivision Number of notices

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

Improvement notice 6 4 2 11 7

Prohibition notice 1 1 1 6 1

Dangerous goods infringement notice 0 0 0 0 0

Infringement notice 2 0 0 0 0

Electrical safety protection 0 0 0 0 0

Unsafe equipment notice 0 0 0 0 0

Seizures 0 0 1 0 0

Dangerous goods directives 2 0 0 0 0

Subtotal 11 5 4 17 8

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







Seizures 0 0 0 0 0


Subtotal 0 1 1 9 1

Waste collection, treatment and disposal services 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14







Seizures 0 0 0 0 0


Subtotal 27 31 72 79 50

Water supply, sewerage and drainage services 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14







Seizures 1 0 0 0 0


Subtotal 21 30 12 9 15


Electricity, gas, water and waste services 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14







Seizures 1 0 1 0 0


Total electricity, gas, water and waste services 59 67 89 114 74


Industry as a proportion of Queensland total (%)

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

Notices to electricity, gas, water and waste services 0.5 0.8 1.0 1.6 1.3

Source: CISR, extracted August 2015.


5. Explanatory notesAccepted 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 and thus the category they are reported in may change over time. Claims classified as serious 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 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 Tables 4 and 9 are based on employment by occupation data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics 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’ compensation

Number 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.

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 fine 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, 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.

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.

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 2019. PN12470

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