One in four agriculture and fishery workers claim for a work injury
Agriculture and fishery workers were the most likely occupation group to make a claim to the Accident Compensation
Corporation (ACC) for a work-related injury, Statistics New Zealand said today.
Agriculture and fishery workers had the highest rate of injury claims, with 241 claims for every 1,000 full- time
equivalent employees (FTEs) – nearly 1 in 4.
Trades workers had the next highest claim rate, at 202 claims per 1,000 FTEs. This was followed closely by people
working in elementary occupations (such as labourers and cleaners) and plant and machine operators and assemblers, with
200 and 188 claims per 1,000 FTEs respectively.
Men made 72 percent of all claims for work-related injuries in 2010. Since 2002, men have consistently accounted for
almost three-quarters of all work-related claims.
Workers aged 65 years and over accounted for only 3–5 percent of all claims since 2002. However, they have consistently
had the highest claim rate across all age groups. In 2010, 1 in 6 workers aged 65 and over made a claim for a
work-related injury.
The statistics show a pattern of decreasing injury claim rates. Final figures for the period 2002–09 show a gradual
decline in the overall rate of injury claims, from 143 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2002 to 114 in 2009.
The total number of claims for fatal injuries made as a result of the explosion in the Pike River coalmine on 19
November 2010 is still provisional. However, the deaths have meant an increase in the number of provisional fatal claims
in the Tasman/Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast region – 23 claims in 2010 compared with 6 in the provisional 2009 data.
Miners are included in the plant and machine operators and assemblers occupation group, and fatalities in this group
increased to 30 in 2010, up from 9 in the provisional 2009 data.
In 2010, ACC accepted a total of 209,700 claims for work-related injuries. For more information see Injury Statistics –
Work-related Claims: 2010, which uses data from ACC.
Geoff Bascand Government Statistician