Key facts about the workforce
This industry grouping covers a wide range of activities, separated into 14 groups. The three largest employing groups are:
- Supermarket and grocery stores
- Pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing
- Motor vehicle retailing
Key facts about injury numbers
There were 420 injuries across this industry in 2021.
This results in a serious injury frequency rate of 7.1 serious injuries per million hours worked.
The serious injury frequency rate of 7.1 is 32% lower than the state average of 10.5.
The industry’s serious injury frequency rate was 19% higher in 2021 than ten years ago.
Key facts about injured workers
32% of serious injuries occurred in Supermarket and grocery stores.
The occupations with the highest proportion of serious injuries were:
- Sales assistants and salespersons with 30% of the total and
- Storepersons with 16% of the total
Key facts about injury causes
The most common causes of injury across the industry in 2021, in order of largest proportion of total injuries, were:
- Body stressing
- Falls, slips and trips
- Mental stress
Priority conditions and causes
The WorkSafe Strategic Plan 2018-2023 identifies six priority causes and conditions, of these five are most relevant to the industry
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Hazardous manual task
- Slips, trips and falls
- Safe movement of vehicles and plant
- Mental health conditions