Workplace and work-related violence and aggression in Australia

Link to original report: https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/report/work-related-violence-aggression-australia

1 Background

In June 2022, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) included “a safe and healthy working environment” as a fundamental principle and right at work, encompassing a workplace without violence and aggression.

Safe Work Australia’s recent data report on psychological health and safety in the workplace highlighted a concerning upwards trend of workplace violence and aggression. This report further examines this trend to provide a view of the prevalence, causes, and impacts of violence in Australian workplaces, as well as opportunities for better risk management approaches.

This analysis uses data from Safe Work Australia’s workers’ compensation claims, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety Survey (PSS), and the People at Work (PAW) Survey, supplemented by occupation- and industry-specific surveys and international sources.

This work aligns with a key target of the Australian WHS Strategy 2023-2033 to build the capability of persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs), WHS regulators, and workers to manage psychosocial hazards at work. It also provides insights into the intersection of workplace violence with health and safety vulnerability.

2 Introduction

The ABS PSS estimates that 8 million Australians (41%) have experienced at least one incidence of violence since they were 15 years old. Workplace and work-related incidents account for at least 13% of these, with over 1 million incidents of work-related violence reported.

There were 53,139 accepted workers’ compensation claims for being assaulted by a person or persons, and 12,721 accepted claims for exposure to workplace or occupational violence over the last 10 years. From 2017-18 to 2021-22p, there was a distinct 56% increase in the number of serious workers’ compensation claims for workplace violence and assault.

The Safe Work Australia Traumatic Injuries Fatalities (TIF) data shows a similar uptick. In 2023 (preliminary data), there were at least 6 worker deaths as a result of being assaulted by a person or persons, compared to 6 worker deaths in total for the 5 years before that.

3.1. Industries

The Public administration and safety and Health care and social assistance industries feature prominently in both the PAW Survey data on exposure to occupational violence and in workers’ compensation claims for being assaulted or exposure to workplace or occupational violence.

The high incidence of occupational violence in the Health care and social assistance industry is supported by data from the Australian Workers’ Union and Head First Mental health issues in the workplace report (October 2023). This survey revealed almost 40% of respondents in Health and community services were exposed to violent or traumatic events at work.

The Education and training industry also has a high number of serious claims for being assaulted or exposure to workplace or occupational violence over the last 5 years. The Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey (2023) found physical violence towards school leaders and teachers has increased 76.5% since the survey’s inception in 2011.

The PAW Survey data reinforces that workplace violence and aggression are significant problems in these industries. However, it’s notable that some industries (such as Accommodation and food services, Transport, postal and warehousing, and Retail trade) had above-average rates of workplace violence but do not feature as prominently in the workers’ compensation claims data.

3.2. Gender

The ABS PSS highlights that women were more likely than men to experience sexual violence, while men were more likely to experience physical violence – and these trends extend to the workplace.

Safe Work Australia’s previous report on Psychological health and safety in the workplace highlights the importance of considering differences in the industries and occupations in which males and females tend to work when considering exposures and impacts of psychosocial hazards.

Workers’ compensation data shows almost 1.5 times more serious workers’ compensation claims for exposure to workplace violence or being assaulted have been made by women than men from 2017-18 to 2021-22p. Moreover, there has been a 73% increase in claims made by women compared to a 33% increase in claims made by men over the last 10 years.

While the relative experience of workplace aggression by gender is a remarkable feature of the data, more research is required to uncover the factors behind these trends.

3.3. Age

International survey findings indicate young people were more likely to face violence and harassment at work, particularly young women. However, both the PAW Survey and workers’ compensation claims suggest incidents of violence and harassment occur more frequently for older age groups.

3.4. Vulnerable workers

The PAW Survey indicates that people of indeterminate and intersex gender are more likely to experience workplace violence than men or women. Additionally, 21% of workers identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander report experiencing workplace violence in the previous 6 months, compared to 12% of workers not identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

International survey findings indicate migrants were more likely to face violence and harassment at work (particularly migrant women); however, more research and data collection is required to speak to the experience of migrant workers in Australia.

3.5. Perpetrators

The ABS PSS indicates that work-related physical violence was more likely to be perpetrated by a client/patient/customer than a co-worker or employer/manager/supervisor across both men and women. This is substantiated by data from the PAW Survey, which shows clients/customers were the most common source of workplace violence.

3.6. Behaviours

The PAW Survey provides insights into violent behaviours experienced in the workplace. The behaviours with the highest number of respondents were ‘Angry or hostile behaviour’, ‘Shouting and swearing’, and ‘Intimidation and insults’. Though these behaviours are lower severity than other violent behaviours, if they are prolonged and sufficiently frequent, they can still represent significant workplace hazards.

3.7. Impacts

Data from the PAW survey indicates that measures of poor worker outcomes – including measures of psychological distress, musculoskeletal symptoms, and job burnout – become progressively worse with the frequency of exposure to workplace violence. Workers are also more likely to consider taking sick leave, seeking medical advice, transferring jobs, or resigning when they are exposed to workplace violence more frequently.

Workers’ compensation data shows that while mental health conditions accounted for the highest number of claims, there are also significant physical injuries caused by workplace violence and aggression.

4 Reporting behaviours

Over the last 10 years, the ABS PSS records that 176,100 incidents of workplace violence occurred. Of these, approximately 46% (80,900) were formally reported as workplace/on-the-job incidents.

The ABS PSS also highlighted the role workplaces play in facilitating informal reporting of incidents of violence and aggression in the workplace. Of women who experienced physical assault by a male in the last 10 years, 7.2% sought advice or support from a work colleague or boss following the most recent incident.

This highlights the importance of PCBUs providing appropriate systems of WHS reporting (including WHS incident notification requirements) and removing barriers to reporting, particularly when managing sensitive incidents.

5 Conclusion and key findings

Notable findings include:

There has been a 56% increase in workers’ compensation claims for being assaulted and exposure to workplace violence since 2017-18.
Gendered differences in the types of industries and occupations in which men and women work are important when considering exposures to and impacts of workplace violence and aggression. Despite the ABS PSS indicating workplace physical violence is a significant issue among men, there has been a 73% increase in claims made by women compared to a 33% increase in claims made by men over the last 10 years.
Clients and customers were the most common source of work-related violence. Employers and PCBUs should be talking to workers about these hazards and implementing effective and reliable control measures to prevent and respond to violence and aggression by others at the workplace.
The highest incidence behaviours of workplace violence were ‘Angry or hostile behaviour’, ‘Shouting and swearing’, and ‘Intimidation and insults’. Though these harmful behaviours are lower severity than other violent behaviours, they can still represent significant workplace risks to workers, particularly if they are prolonged or frequent.

6 About the data

6.1. Definitions

The report uses slightly different definitions of workplace and work-related violence across data sources:

Workers’ compensation data: Claims coded to TOOCS mechanisms “29 Being assaulted by a person or persons” or “82 Exposure to workplace or occupational violence”
ABS Personal Safety Survey: Combines physical violence (occurrence, attempt, or threat of physical assault) and sexual violence (occurrence, attempt, or threat of sexual assault) committed by an employer, manager, supervisor, co-worker, client, patient, or customer
People at Work Survey: Asks about overall experience of workplace violence in the last 6 months, then about specific behaviours separately

6.2. National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics (NDS)

Safe Work Australia compiles national workers’ compensation statistics using data obtained from workers’ compensation authorities. The NDS categorises claims using the Type of Occurrence Classification System (TOOCS).

Limitations:

Not all workers are eligible for or choose to lodge a workers’ compensation claim
Only the most serious injury or disease is recorded for each claim
2021-22 NDS data are preliminary and likely to rise with future revisions

6.3. People at Work (PAW)

The PAW Survey is a validated Australian psychosocial risk assessment survey assessing 14 psychosocial hazards within a workplace.

Limitations:

Uses a workplace-based approach, not a representative population sample
Does not capture businesses with less than 20 employees
Overrepresents certain industries

6.4. ABS Personal Safety Survey (PSS)

The ABS PSS collected information from persons aged 18 years and over about their experiences of violence, including physical and sexual violence, violence by a cohabiting partner, stalking, sexual harassment, and childhood abuse.

Limitations:

Conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have affected results
Achieved a response rate of 52.2%

6.5. Supplementary data sources

The report uses a range of union and industry surveys to supplement the main data sources. These surveys do not use statistical sampling and may be subject to bias.

International comparisons are drawn from the Violence and Harassment at Work survey conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 121 countries, territories, and areas.