Workplaces fatalities fell to an 11-year low of 191 last year, down 16% on 2012, according to a new Safe Work Australia report. 

Men accounted for 92% of the deaths, and two-thirds of deaths involved vehicles.

Operating machinery and driving were the riskiest jobs, leading to 62 deaths last year. Road and rail drivers accounted for 48 deaths – 39 of them truck drivers.

The report says the drop in deaths is due to the lower toll on public roads, particularly for workers in cars.

Some 65 workers died in vehicle collisions last year, down from 90 in 2012.

Over the 11 years data has been collected, one-third of deaths were in vehicle collisions on public roads and one-third in vehicle crashes at workplaces. 

The worker fatality rate last year was 1.64 per 100,000.

By sector, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry recorded most fatalities last year (48), followed by transport, postal and warehousing (46) and construction (19).

The death rate for self-employed workers (4.39 per 100,000) was three times higher than for employees (1.31 per 100,000), with self-employment common in agriculture, forestry and fishing, and transport, postal and warehousing.

Safe Work Australia Acting CEO Michelle Baxter says the rate among self-employed workers is alarming. “Even if a worker is conducting a business in their own right, they should not ignore their own health and safety.”

By state, the most deaths were in NSW (53), followed by Queensland (50) and Victoria (31).

Other leading causes of death last year were: falls from ladders and other heights (24); being hit by falling objects (24); and being hit by moving objects (21).