‘Safety is everyone’s responsibility’: Addressing alarming rates of construction fatalities

Creating a culture of solidarity, communication, and engagement is central to impactful safety policy, according to one workplace health and safety expert.

The Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS) is highlighting Tradie Health Month over August as a time for renewed consideration of the contributors to injury and death, as the construction sector ranks third in Australia’s deadliest workplaces.

Established by the Australian Physiotherapy Association in 2012, the month-long campaign aims to raise awareness of the physical and mental health challenges the trade profession can pose, with recent statistics pointing to the initiative’s ongoing relevance.

Safe Work Australia’s fatality findings to 30 July 2026 revealed that the construction industry has seen seven worker deaths this year, with falling from height among the leading causes of injury and responsible for 13 per cent of all Australian workplace fatalities.

According to Working at Height Association (WAHA) CEO Scott Barber, the practicality of working from height is only half the challenge, with many failing to grasp a broader, conceptual understanding of policy.

He said: “Even with training, it takes time and experience to properly understand the risks, read changing conditions, and know how to use the right gear the right way … that means taking the time to really understand the job, ask questions, and know the equipment you’re trusting to keep you safe.”

In this vein, AIHS CEO Julia Whitford explained that the priority for employers should be the renewed establishment of a culture that supports speaking up, considering safety from a conceptual point of view, and consulting workers for all policy and workplace decisions.

Workers, Whitford said, “should help form the management’s understanding of how work is actually done, not what they think should be happening”.

“Consultation is really key in all of safety culture,” she said.

Similarly, Whitford agreed that poor or individualistic attitudes towards safety compliance and regulation are best tackled through active leadership, in which safety and risk management is promoted as a shared value, and a culture that allows workers to speak out.

Whitford also highlighted unrealistic time frames and pressured deadlines as contributors to poor safety management, noting: “When you’re under that stress, safety doesn’t necessarily come to the top of your mind.”

“I think there’s potentially inadequate supervision and minimal training … that really impacts on the culture of safety within the construction industry,” she said.

Whitford explained that the central issue is not in policy or individual worker conduct, but how work is designed.

“Instead of trying to fix people, we need to really fix the way work is done … it’s not that the individuals [have] necessarily done the wrong thing, but the boundaries or barricades aren’t necessarily in place to prevent that,” she said.

“The designing is a combination: it could be human resources, workplace health and safety, line management … but consultation with workers really needs to come into that.”

In relation to Barber’s assertion that employers and safety professions should be investing in workers’ skills and encouraging learning, Whitford explained that this can commence with a morning “toolbox talk” where workers discuss what they have seen in the past week, what they have learnt, and identify any trends or patterns that necessitate upskilling.

She said: “If they’re introducing a new piece of equipment or machinery, ensure that they understand the machine, they’re taught how to use it, and what checks they need to do before they actually start implementing that machinery.”

In this way, Whitford reinforced the importance of talking to the workers and considering the practicality and safety implications of every decision, surmising: “don’t write policies up in your office”.

“Fatalities are real, and construction does take a toll on the body … it’s better to come away safe than get the job done at a particular deadline,” she said.

The warnings ring true for a number of dangerous sectors, with July’s National Farm Safety Week similarly highlighting the strain of deficient safety procedures and consideration.

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