Media Release
Officers working to prevent falls and improve safety
12 February 2008
NT WorkSafe officers will visit more than 200 workplaces in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs during February and March as part of a national campaign to raise awareness of falls prevention in the construction industry.
NT WorkSafe Executive Director Laurene Hull said, “Falls are a major risk in the construction industry. In the past four years 107 Territorians working in construction were injured at work and two died as a result of a fall from height.”
Workplace health and safety regulators across Australia are joining forces to target falls prevention in the construction industry.
NT WorkSafe officers will undertake site inspections during the next six weeks focussing on providing advice and guidance to the smaller construction and residential housing sectors.
Falls prevention is a top priority area for Australia’s workplace safety authorities as falls are the single-biggest cause of workplace deaths in the construction industry.
Ms Hull said, “There have been deaths from falls of less than two metres. Frequently it is the employers themselves who are injured.”
“NT WorkSafe wants to see every worker return home to his or her family without injury at the end of every day.“
Information bulletins and health and safety publications are available in printed form from NT WorkSafe offices in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs or the website at http://www.worksafe.nt.gov.au/
For more information about falls prevention, contact NT WorkSafe on 1800 019 115.