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Victoria ‘the safest place to work’

WorkSafe Victoria, the agency responsible for managing Victoria’s workplace safety system, says the southern state is the safest place to work in Australia.

Its latest operational results show record low injury rates, high levels of customer satisfaction and improved claims management, according to WorkSafe Chairman Elana Rubin.

Formerly known as the Victorian Workcover Authority, WorkSafe Victoria’s results show that in 2007/08 Victoria experienced less than 30,000 workplace injury claims for the third time in its history.

The figures translate to a record low of 11.11 injuries for every 1000 workers. This is a reduction from 11.32 claims per 1000 workers the previous year, while workplace fatalities were halved compared to 2006/07 at 16 in total.

The agency says strong safety performance and financial management resulted in four consecutive annual cuts of 10% to average premium rates and a further 5% reduction in the average premium rate earlier this year.

The agency’s financial results include a $958 million profit from insurance operations.

But world financial market volatility contributed to a $587 million loss from investment returns.

The year to June saw WorkSafe pay more than $1.33 billion in total compensation payments to injured workers.