Injury Hotspots - FAQ

• 1. What is the purpose of the Injury Hotspots information?
• 2. Where does the data come from?
• 3. Can the Injury Hotspots help me identify the most severe injuries?
• 4. How often will the Injury Hotspots be updated?
• 5. Why don't the percentages add up to one hundred?
• 6. This picture doesn't match what happens in my workplace. Is your data incorrect?
• 7. You don't have an Injury Hotspot publication for my industry or occupation.? Does that mean I am safe?
• 8. Where do I find out more about the solutions?
• 9. Are the solutions compulsory?
• 10. Can I use this Injury Hotspot information sheet in my workplace/training course/induction/budgeting round/setting maintenance priorities/ procurement plan/health and safety representative activities?
• 11. I want Injury Hotspot guidance for my occupation or industry.? How do I make this happen?

1. What is the purpose of the Injury Hotspots information?

Worksafe's Injury Hotspots information sheets give an industry-wide snapshot of how people get injured and what can be done to prevent these injuries.

By pinpointing areas on the body that are most likely to be injured, the Injury Hotspots identify common causes of those injuries and offer a list of solutions that will lessen or eliminate the chances of them occurring.

Another aim of the Injury Hotspots is to encourage workers to seek further information relevant to their industry by using the interactive Hotspots portal on the WorkSafe website to click through to publications and guidance provided by Worksafe and other relevant trade bodies.

2. Where does the data come from?

The body graphics are indicative of WorkCover claims lodged over the past five years; showing where workers have commonly been hurt and how. The solutions are derived directly from WorkSafe's data and experience, and represent the typical level of safety controls a WorkSafe inspector would expect to see in workplaces within a particular industry.

Figures are based on WorkCover claims from injuries that involve ten or more days off work or more than several hundred dollars of medical costs. (The actual figure is adjusted annually).

Injuries that are not captured in Workcover claims data, such as injuries to self-employed people and volunteers or injuries such as long-term industrial disease, do not appear on the Injury Hotspots sheets.

3. Can the Injury Hotspots help me identify the most severe injuries?

No. Injury Hotspots are a measure of frequency not severity. Each hotspot shows the proportion of claims for injuries to that area of the body, and does not take into account the severity of the injury or the time taken for recovery. For more detailed information on different types of injury visit the Health and Safety Topics section of the WorkSafe website.

4. How often will the Injury Hotspots be updated?

More Injury Hotspots will be developed in coming months, with a plan to update the data [and therefore the hotspot statistics] every two years.

5. Why don't the percentages on the body graphics add up to 100?

The Injury Hotspots show the common sources/causes of harm. It is designed to draw attention to hazards and injuries that are most likely to occur, not reflect all known injuries in a given industry. If we put all the sources on the graphic it would be too crowded.

6. This picture doesn't match what happens in my workplace. Is your data wrong?

Each workplace varies while very few fall exactly on the average. The reality is many workplaces have no or almost no injuries. The Injury Hotspots information sheets show the overall picture across an industry, sector, occupation or activity and are based on data collected by WorkSafe officers.

7. You don't have an Injury Hotspots publication for my industry or occupation. Does that mean I am safe?

The initial group of Injury Hotspots information sheets have been developed for occupations and industries considered to be of higher risk, such as construction and agriculture, based on injury claims. WorkSafe is continuing to develop Injury Hotspots for a broader range of industries, particularly those who do not have easily accessible OHS information.

8. Where do I find out more about the solutions?

Each Injury Hotspot information sheet has links to further guidance/publications on WorkSafe's interactive online Injury Hotspots portal.

9. Are the solutions compulsory?

These solutions are the minimum that a typical workplace should typically expect to have in place. They are limited by what is reasonably practicable for your business.? In most instances better solutions can reasonably and practicably be put in place.

10. Can I use this Injury Hotspot information sheet in my workplace / training course / induction / budgeting round / setting maintenance priorities / procurement plan / health and safety representative activities?

Yes. Please contact WorkSafe Publications if you wish to use it in a manner where you expect to receive financial gain.

11. I want Injury Hotspot guidance for my occupation or industry. How do I make this happen?

Like all WorkSafe's guidance, the Injury Hotspots information sheets are planned work under our annual business plan. We develop our plan in consultation with employer association and employee representatives (unions).