Occupational health in Australia

Our plain-English summary of Occupational health in Australia, by W.O. Phoon (International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1998).

The study

• Author: W.O. Phoon
• Journal: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 1998;71(6):363-71
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Australia is a developed country in the Asia-Pacific Region with a large land area but a small population. Its main economic activities are mining, agriculture and manufacturing, with its service and high-technology industries being the fastest growing sectors in recent years. The regulation and enforcement of Occupational Health and Safety policies are mainly administered by the Industrial Relations Departments of eight State and Territory jurisdictions in the country. A National Occupational Health and Safety Commission coordinates occupational health and safety at the Commonwealth level. In 1987 the six occupational health and safety priorities in Australia were listed as occupational back pain, management of chemicals used at work, occupational noise-induced hearing loss, occupational skin disorders, occupational cancer and mechanical equipment injury. Australia has probably the highest incidence of malignant mesothelioma in the world, although the use of asbestos has been largely phased out. There was an almost explosive "epidemic" of repetition strain injury in the 1980s. Approximately 500 work-related fatalities and 10,000 work-related injuries are notified for workers' compensation every year. In addition, it is estimated that there are several thousand cases of work-related diseases every year, many of which go unreported. Occupational physicians undergo 4 years of specialisation training. Occupational hygienists, nurses and ergonomists receive training supervised by their respective professional organisations.

In plain English

This article was a descriptive overview of occupational health and safety in Australia. It was not an original research study. It described how workplace health and safety was regulated by eight State and Territory jurisdictions, how occupational health professionals were trained, and what was known about workers' compensation, research funding and national priorities. On asbestos, the author stated that Australia probably had the highest incidence of malignant mesothelioma in the world, although asbestos use had been largely phased out. Citing a 1991 study by Leigh and colleagues of mesothelioma in Australia from 1982 to 1988, the article reported that the crude incidence rate per 1 million people aged 20 and over rose from 12.8 in 1982 to 19.6 in 1988. It reported that the male rate ranged from 22.7 to 35.9 and was about 7 times the female rate. Western Australia had the highest rate, due in large part to cases exposed occupationally or environmentally at the Wittenoom crocidolite mine. The author noted that epidemiology surveys suggested many people with work-related diseases, especially long-latency ones, did not receive workers' compensation.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative overview (commentary) of occupational health and safety in Australia, not an original study. Its mesothelioma figures come from a cited 1991 study by Leigh and colleagues (reference 12).
• Who was studied: Australia as a whole (population of approximately 18 million), described at the national level and across its eight State and Territory jurisdictions
• Exposure: General occupational hazards in Australia. For asbestos, the article mentions occupational or environmental exposure at the Wittenoom crocidolite mine and notes that asbestos use had been largely phased out. The article measured no exposure.
• Main results:
  • Citing reference 12, the article reported that the Australian crude incidence rate of malignant mesothelioma per 1 million population aged 20 years and above increased from 12.8 in 1982 to 19.6 in 1988.
  • The male crude rate ranged from 22.7 to 35.9 over that period and was about 7 times the female crude rate.
  • Compared with countries that were major past users of asbestos, the Australian national rate was the highest, and the rise had been continuous since 1947.
  • The rate was highest in Western Australia, due in large part to cases exposed occupationally or environmentally at the Wittenoom crocidolite mine. The mine had closed about 30 years before the article was written.
  • Australia had a national register of mesothelioma cases. Reporting to it was voluntary, and it was not limited to occupationally related cases.
  • The author stated that epidemiology surveys suggest many individuals with work-related diseases, especially those with long latency periods, do not receive workers' compensation.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that Australia's standard of occupational health and safety probably fell in the middle of the range for developed countries. The author did not expect much improvement in the short term.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author stated that information on occupational health problems came largely from workers' compensation data. Because these data cover disease poorly, occupational diseases are probably grossly under-estimated.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Jurisdiction, Malignant Mesothelioma.

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