Overview
The Transport, Postal and Warehousing industry employs about 36,600 workers in South Australia, accounting for 4 per cent of the state’s workforce.
The Road Transport sub-industry is identified as a priority industry under the Australian WHS Strategy 2023-2033 due to high rates of worker harm. The transport industry also includes providers such as Uber, Lyft, and logistics platforms, which feature WHS risks such as vehicle accidents and fatigue.
SafeWork SA partners with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR – for vehicles > 4.5 tonnes) in joint campaigns and integrated inspections.
Key policies and strategic plans that govern the sector include:
- Australian WHS Strategy 2023-2033
- Heavy Vehicle National Law – administered by NHVR
- South Australian Transport Strategy
Claims data
There were 7,034 accepted workers’ compensation claims from the industry in SA from July 2016 to June 2024.
A total of 51.3 per cent were from the Road Transport sub-industry while 10 per cent of claims were from the Warehousing and Storage Services sub-industry.
Four main injury mechanisms – body stressing, falls, trips and slips, being hit by moving objects, and hitting objects with a part of the body – accounted for 81 per cent of the injuries in these claims.
The Transport, Postal and Warehousing industry had the fourth highest number of serious claims for work-related mental health conditions in Australia from 2017-2022. It also accounted for 26 per cent (51) of all worker fatalities nationally in 2023.
In South Australia, 50 businesses accounted for 58 per cent of the industry’s Return to Work SA claims.
Of the 7,034 accepted claims in the industry between July 2016 to June 2024 in SA, occupations most represented were:
- machinery operators and drivers – 4,616 claims, with general truck drivers most affected.
- labourers – 730 claims, predominantly waterside workers and road and rail freight handlers.
- technicians and trades workers – 644 claims, chiefly diesel motor mechanics and general motor mechanics.
Claims were predominantly from male workers (90 percent), with a significant skew towards older workers. Young workers (15-24 years) made 488 claims, with store persons and diesel motor mechanics being the most affected occupations.
Compliance campaign
The compliance campaign will run from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 and will focus on the road transport sector.
SafeWork SA will work with its interjurisdictional partners to reduce serious injuries and fatalities in the Road Transport industry by undertaking truck stop operations at weighbridges, intelligence led ‘yard raids’.
A joint operation between the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), South Australia (SA) Police, the Australian Border Force (ABF) and SafeWork SA was run as a pre-cursor to the campaign in March 2025.
The operation uncovered a raft of concerning safety issues including faulty brakes, steering issues and exploitation of migrant workers.
SafeWork SA inspectors issued 75 improvement notices relating to breaches of the WHS Act. These ranged from defective, poorly maintained or absent fire extinguishers and first aid kits to non-compliant vehicle maintenance and load restraint maintenance.
A further five notices were issued in relation to carrying dangerous substances.
The campaign will also focus on dangerous good transport. SafeWork SA licences about 1300 vehicles to transport an array of dangerous substances from fuels for vehicles, emulsions for mine sites to acids and bases for manufacturers and primary industries. This will be the first dangerous goods transport compliance campaign run by SafeWork SA where inspectors will conduct site visits at transport company depots.
The focus of compliance will be to ensure:
- vehicles and drivers are appropriately licensed
- processes are in place to ensure only licensed drivers and vehicles are used for licensable dangerous goods loads
- appropriate policies of insurance are held
- procedures for equipping dangerous goods loads with the appropriate PPE for drivers
- correct transport documentation is produced for each dangerous goods load
- conduct depot inspections to identify if dangerous substance storage is required
- processes pertaining to vehicle placarding are in place
- compliance plates, safe fill levels are consistent with tank design approvals.
SafeWork SA will also target businesses with a history of high workers’ compensation claims.
It will include worksite inspections and audits to identify non-compliance and assist in educating the businesses on their Work Health & Safety (WHS) duty of care to meet their statutory obligations.
SafeWork SA will focus on the following common road transport industry WHS risks:
Manual handling
Psychosocial
Noise
High risk work licensing
High-risk work licences are required for a number of tasks including crane and hoist operation, forklift operation and scaffolding work.
These licences are used widely across several industries including manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and fishing and transport and warehousing.
SafeWork SA’s 2025-26 compliance campaigns will include audits aim to ensure that high-risk work (HRW) is being carried out safely and competently.
The audits will focus on verifying that workers hold a valid HRW licence relevant to the tasks they [perform and that employers have systems in place to sight, verify, and record these licences.