The number of serious injuries resulting from workplace falls from heights in South Australia dropped by 25 per cent in 2022 but more needs to be done to reduce risks.

Just days out from this year’s ‘April No-Falls’ campaign, SafeWork SA is asking businesses to talk with workers about strategies to reduce the risk of injury when working from heights.

Slips, trips and falls account for a substantial number of workplace incidents with falls from height being the second leading cause of fatalities across Australia.

In 2022, SafeWork SA recorded 77 notifiable serious injuries resulting from falls, down from 103 in 2021.

Of these, 50 were in the construction industry, with 36 of those being in the residential sector.

Misuse of ladders was the biggest contributor to falls in the construction and mining industries while falls from plant such as machinery and vehicles were more prevalent in manufacturing and agriculture.

There were also 263 SafeWork SA interventions associated with managing risk of falls in 2022 with the construction sector again responsible for the majority of non-compliances with 238, including 177 in the residential sector.

To assist the construction industry in minimising the risk of a falls, SafeWork SA continues to support the South Australian Construction Safety Alliance (SACSA) working at heights initiative.

SACSA last year developed a safety essential flyer containing information to minimise risks of falls that was shared and posted at their members worksites.

SafeWork SA will also run a webinar on Wednesday 26 April titled 'Managing risk of falls in the residential construction sector' that will include a discussion on the latest findings and trends.

The 25 per cent decrease in fall injuries in 2022 follows a 10 per cent decrease in 2021.

SafeWork SA Acting Executive Director Glenn Farrell said while the reduction in serious incidents over consecutive years was very encouraging, the number of workers still injured in falls is unacceptably high.

‘Every April our inspectors and educators spread the “no-falls” message,’ he said.

‘This year we will also be hosting a webinar to create further awareness, with a particular focus on the residential construction industry.

‘Businesses and workers can all play their part by considering if a task can be done differently, potentially without having to work from heights at all.’

Further links

• Slips, trips & falls
• Managing risk of falls video series
• Managing the risk of falls in the workplace – Approved Code of Practice
• Managing the risk of falls in housing construction – Model Code of practice
• Ladders
• Slips, Trips and Falls Safety Scan – Auto Workshops
• Service pits - auto workshops
• Guide to managing risks of industrial rope access systems - Safe Work Australia
• Pallet racking
• Safe work on roofs information sheet – Safe Work Australia
• SWMS for high risk construction work
• Guardrail systems for roof work
• Stairwells, atriums and voids