The awareness campaign, called Safety at work is a serious job, features Stanley the talking safety cone providing advice on falls from heights, roll-away vehicles and spills.

From 2022 to 2025 SafeWork SA was notified of 12 deaths and 288 serious injuries resulting from falls in the workplace.

In the same period, SafeWork SA conducted several compliance campaigns targeting working from heights. A total of 1575 statutory notices were issued where non-compliance with work, health and safety laws was found.

Falls from heights are most common in the construction, manufacturing, transport, healthcare and education sectors.

A fall can cause significant injury or death from any height and can happen in many ways such as falling off ladders, through fragile surfaces or penetrations, from unprotected elevated work areas or into service pits or trenches.

Recent examples include:

• a labourer was seriously injured when they fell 4.6m through a skylight at an aged care facility in southern Adelaide in March 2022. Two companies were fined a total $108,000 as a result of the incident
• a shed company was fined $90,000 after a worker fell 3.61 metres from a shed roof onto a concrete floor while dismantling the shed in Victor Harbor in October 2021. The worker sustained serious spinal injuries, fractures to their ribs and shoulder and a punctured lung as a result of the fall
• the owner and operator of an Adelaide hotel was fined $70,000 in 2019 after a contractor fell through the open trapdoors of a cellar in the hotel’s gaming room. The worker sustained a spleen laceration requiring immediate hospital treatment.

About half of all falls that result in a fatality involve heights of three metres or less, highlighting that even relatively low heights present significant risk.

The campaign aims to remind workers, employers and sole operators about the dangers and the need to put safety first regardless of where they work.

The campaign includes the sub-message Check it’s fine before you climb.

A webpage specifically on the hazard has also been created on the SafeWork SA website.

Employers must manage the risk of falls:

• by planning work so that tasks are completed at ground level wherever possible, minimising the time workers need to spend working at height
• in or on an elevated workplace from which a person could fall, by ensuring guardrails, fall‑prevention devices, scaffolds, EWPs, and other controls are selected, installed and used correctly
• in the vicinity of an opening through which a person could fall, by securing or covering openings such as voids, penetrations, skylights, pits, and floor hatches, and ensuring covers are fitted, secured and clearly labelled
• in the vicinity of an edge over which a person could fall, by installing edge protection, exclusion zones, designated walkways, or physical barriers
• on a surface through which a person could fall, by identifying fragile or unstable surfaces (e.g. brittle roofing, damaged flooring, corroded platforms), restricting access, and providing alternative access methods or fall‑prevention systems where work cannot be avoided
• in any other place from which a person could fall, by assessing all tasks for fall hazards including stairs, loading docks, vehicles, ladders, mezzanines, and temporary work areas, and implementing appropriate controls so far as is reasonably practicable.

To minimise the risk of harm from a fall, workers must:

• contribute to a safe workplace by taking responsibility for their own safety and the safety of people they work with
• follow all safe work instructions and procedures including the safe work method statement (SWMS)
• report safety issues
• use safety gear (PPE) where required
• ensure access equipment (e.g., ladders, platforms, scaffolds) is used correctly and only when it is safe to do so.

Employers must also ensure they provide a safe means of access and egress to and from any area where work at height is required.

The awareness campaign will support SafeWork SA’s ongoing compliance and education activities across a range of industries.

Visit our campaign hub for more information.

Attribute to SafeWork SA Executive Director Glenn Farrell

Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of death and serious injury at work, and too often they happen during routine tasks.

Checking that it’s fine before you climb is a simple step that can prevent life‑changing injuries.

The data shows us that you don’t need to fall far to be seriously hurt or killed. Whether it’s a ladder, a roof or a fragile surface, the risk is real – and that’s why safety at work is a serious job.

This campaign is about reminding workers, employers and sole traders that falls are preventable when risks are properly managed.

Taking the time to plan the job and follow safe work procedures helps ensure everyone goes home safely at the end of the day.

Media enquiries

SafeWork SA media team: 0466 504 507 or media.safework@sa.gov.au