Occupational injuries and workplace assaults among migrant workers in Victoria, Australia: a study of emergency department presentations

• Occupational injury risk was higher in Sudanese and Afghan-born than local workers. • In contrast, migrant workers born in China and India had much lower injury rates. • Injury prevention must recognise that migrant workers are not a single group. • Policies should prioritise high-risk groups with culturally tailored safety programs. Migrant workers are often employed in risky jobs and may experience barriers to safe work environments. In the event of a workplace injury, including assaults, healthcare is often sought from Emergency Departments (EDs). We examined differences in ED presentation rates for occupational injuries by country of birth, among workers in Victoria. Data were derived from the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (01/07/2019–30/06/2023), provided to the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit by Victoria’s Department of Health. Occupational physical injuries for persons aged 15–69 years were identified and injury rates were calculated accounting for population Labour Force distribution by country of birth, sex, age and year. There were 111,604 ED presentations with occupational injuries, an annual rate of 9.0/1000 employed persons. The highest injury rates were among Sudan-born (26/1000), Afghanistan-born (23/1000), and Samoa-born (21/1000) workers. Rates among Australia-born and New Zealand-born workers were similar (11/1000), while workers born in India and China had lower rates (4.3/1000 and 3.8/1000, respectively). Variability in injury rates by country of birth persisted after controlling for age and sex. Occupational injury rates due to assault were highest among younger workers and those born in Afghanistan, India, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Turkey compared to those born in Australia. Results from this study show that rates of ED presentations for occupational injuries and workplace assault injuries varied substantially by country of birth. To maximise occupational health and safety, this finding warrants further investigation, using qualitative methods and detailed occupational and ethnographic datasets, to better understand reasons for these disparities.