Fall Fatality Statistics in Australia: How Many Deaths Could Be Prevented With Proper Height Safety

In 2024, twenty-four workers in Australia died from falls from a height. That is twenty-four people who left for work and never came home. According to Safe Work Australia, falls from height accounted for 13 per cent of all workplace fatalities that year, making it the second leading cause of worker death behind vehicle incidents.

The numbers tell a grim story, and the trend is heading in the wrong direction. In 2023, twenty-nine workers died from falls, a figure 32 per cent higher than the five-year average and a 71 per cent spike from 2022. Nearly half of those deaths occurred in construction. But construction sites are not the only places where people fall. Commercial rooftops, warehouses, shopping centres, apartment buildings. Any roof where a tradesperson works without proper fall protection is a place where someone can die.

The stress of those numbers should sit with anyone who owns or manages a building. If your property has rooftop plant that needs servicing, someone is getting on that roof. An air conditioning technician, a plumber clearing blocked drains, an electrician inspecting solar inverters. You may never see them up there, but you carry a legal obligation to make sure they can work safely. Under the Work Health and Safety Act, a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking cannot transfer that duty to a third party. The contractor’s employer has obligations too, but your duty as building owner or facilities manager does not disappear because you hired someone else to do the job.

Every one of those twenty-four deaths in 2024 was preventable. That is not an opinion. Safe Work Australia has identified the most common causes of fatal falls as complacency, overconfidence, and a lack of fall protection measures on site. A 2023/24 SafeWork NSW investigation found that 38 per cent of nearly 1,500 sites with roof work underway had no fall protection in place at all. More than one in three roofs with a worker on them had nothing stopping that worker from going over the edge.

At Anchored Height Safety, we see this gap every week. We walk rooftops across Melbourne and regional Victoria where tradespeople have been accessing plant for years with no anchor points, no static lines, and no safe means of getting on or off the roof. We understand why it happens. The building was built before current standards existed. The original height safety system was never maintained. Or nobody thought to ask whether the roof was safe because the contractor seemed to know what they were doing. None of those reasons change the outcome if someone falls.

What changes the outcome is a properly designed height safety system. We assess your rooftop and identify every access point, every piece of plant that requires maintenance, and every edge or penetration that creates a fall risk. We then design a system around those specific needs. That might include fixed roof ladders with caged access, anchor points positioned to allow safe work near rooftop equipment, horizontal static lines for larger roof areas, or permanent edge protection where trades regularly work near an unprotected perimeter. Every system we install is certified to AS/NZS 1891 and AS 1657, and we provide documentation that tells your tradespeople exactly what equipment is on the roof, what it is rated for, and when it was last inspected. Your contractors arrive knowing what is available and how to use it. They clip on, do their job, and go home safely.

We also certify and maintain these systems over time. Anchor points and static lines require annual inspection to remain compliant. We schedule those inspections so you never have to wonder whether your system is still up to standard.

Picture a building where every rooftop access point has been assessed, every fall hazard has been addressed, and every tradesperson who steps onto that roof has a clear, documented system to keep them safe. Your compliance obligations are met. Your insurance position is sound. Your maintenance contractors complete their work on schedule because they have safe access to do so. That is what a properly maintained height safety system delivers.

Now picture the alternative. A contractor climbs onto your roof using a wall-mounted ladder with no fall arrest. They step over a parapet onto a sloping metal deck with no anchor points. One wet morning, one moment of lost footing, and you are dealing with a WorkSafe investigation, a serious injury or fatality claim, and the knowledge that it could have been prevented. The statistics are not abstract. They represent real people on real rooftops, including yours.

If you are not sure whether your building’s rooftop access is compliant, now is the time to find out. Call us on 03 9555 3586, email us at sales@anchored.com.au, or visit anchored.com.au to book a rooftop height safety assessment. Every worker who gets on your roof deserves to come home safely.