FairWork Mate Insights · Workplace safety
What Australia's workplace-safety enforcement record shows
A plain-English read of Safe Work Australia's published WHS prosecutions — where safety breaches are prosecuted, how serious the harm is, and which sectors carry the most risk. Sector-level patterns, drawn entirely from the public record, to help employers prevent harm.
Source: Safe Work Australia published WHS prosecutions (2020–2024). Aggregate figures only — no individual employers named.
Where safety prosecutions happen
WHS prosecutions by sector. A small number of industries account for most enforcement — useful if you're benchmarking where your own safety risk sits.
How serious the harm behind these matters is
Prosecutions by the highest level of injury involved. Most prosecuted matters follow a death or a serious injury — a reminder that WHS enforcement is about preventing real harm, not paperwork.
Prosecutions by state and territory
WHS prosecutions by jurisdiction. This reflects each regulator's prosecution activity over the period, not necessarily the underlying rate of workplace harm.
Prosecutions by year
WHS prosecutions finalised each year across the published record.
What this means for you
If you're in construction, manufacturing, transport or waste services, you're in the sectors that draw the most WHS enforcement. The clearest way to lower your risk is to know your duties and close obvious gaps before an incident — not after.
Check your WHS obligations →Psychosocial hazards — workload, bullying, exposure to trauma — are now an explicit WHS duty across Australia. A short check helps you see where your workplace stands before problems escalate.
Run the psychosocial hazard check →FairWork Mate Insights — a living, aggregate view of Australia's workplace-safety enforcement record, built on the public Safe Work Australia data.