While WorkSafe Month is about to wrap up, it’s important that we continue to focus on workplace safety and make it part of our everyday lives.

While the number of workplace injuries have decreased by 25 per cent over the last decade, from 10,244 injuries recorded in 2005 to 7,644 recorded in 2015, there is still much more to do.

In 2015-16, there was a reduction in the rates of serious injury, overall lost time, serious claims and serious claim frequency rates in Tasmania.

In 2015-16, there were:

1. 786 reported claims in the manufacturing industry, a decrease of 18 per cent on 2014-15;
2. 630 reported claims in the retail trade industry, a decrease of 3.5 per cent; and
3. 576 reported claims in the construction industry, a decrease of 3.7 per cent.

When injured, the return to work rate in Tasmania is 92 per cent, which is above the national average of 87 per cent and an indication of the quality of injury management care provided locally.

There has been a similar reduction in the rate of serious injury which has reduced from 14 claims per 1,000 employees in 2010 to 11.2 in 2015.

These latest figures show the Government’s absolute commitment to seeing workers return home safely to their families at the end of a shift.

I congratulate Tasmanian workers, managers, businesses and—not least of all—WorkSafe Tasmania for their combined efforts in realising these improvements.

However, as encouraging as these signs are, as long as Tasmanian workers continue to be injured in the workplace, there is work to be done.

Safety is everyone’s responsibility and I intend to build upon the work already done and help make Tasmanian workplaces the safest within the nation.