180,000 work-related injury claims in 2012

180,000 work-related injury claims in 2012 – Media release

15 October 2013

In 2012, 180,000 claims were made for a work-related injury in New Zealand to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), Statistics New Zealand said today.

Provisional figures for 2012 show the overall rate of injury claims was 93 claims for every 1,000 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs).

Males made 73 percent of all claims for work-related injuries in 2012. Since 2002, males have consistently accounted for about three-quarters of all work-related claims.

Younger workers (aged 15–24 years) and older workers (aged 65 years and over) had the highest claim rates across all age groups. In 2012, about 1 in 8 workers in those two age groups made a claim for a work-related injury.

Pacific peoples had a higher rate of injury claims (111 claims per 1,000 FTEs) than Māori (90), European (87), and Asian (55) workers.

One in four agriculture and fishery workers made an injury claim in 2012, making them the most likely occupation group to make a work-related claim. Other occupation groups with higher-than-average claim rates were:
• trades workers (185 claims per 1,000 FTEs)
• workers in elementary occupations, such as labourers and cleaners (158)
• plant and machine operators and assemblers (153).

The trend for injury claim rates has consistently declined since 2002. Final figures for the period 2002–11 show a steady drop in the overall rate of injury claims, from 129 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2002 to 96 in 2011.

Regional claim rate trends generally match national trends, except for in the Canterbury region. After the Canterbury earthquake of 22 February 2011, the region’s rate for 2011 rose to 98 claims per 1,000 FTEs (up from 90 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2010).

A revised definition of work-related claims developed by ACC, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), and Statistics NZ was used for the first time in this release. In addition, ACC has improved the quality of claims information, including historical data. Therefore, results from this release are not directly comparable to what has been published previously. See Injury Statistics – Work-related claims: 2012 – data quality for more details.

ENDS

For more information about these statistics:
• Visit Injury Statistics – Work-related Claims: 2012
• Open the attached files
InjuryStatistics12.pdf
iswrc12final2011tables.xls

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