Unhealthiest Careers

This analysis combines multiple national datasets to assess how different occupations and industries are associated with health risk in Australia. By integrating information on health outcomes, working conditions, and health behaviours, the index captures both harm already occurring and structural risk factors embedded in job design, enabling meaningful, like-for-like comparisons across the workforce.

Industry and Occupation Classification and Coverage

All results were analysed using ANZSCO Level 2 industry classifications and OSCA Level 2 occupation classifications. These broad groupings were selected to ensure consistency across datasets, policy relevance, and sufficient sample sizes for reliable comparison.

To maintain statistical robustness, some industries and occupations were excluded from the analysis where estimates did not meet Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reliability standards. As a result, the final index focuses on workforce groups with sufficiently stable data to support meaningful comparison, rather than attempting to rank all possible industries or occupations.

Please note that some indicators within the report are shown as 0.0% due to ABS confidentiality rules or small sample sizes. These values reflect very low or unobservable prevalence rather than true zero incidence.

National Health Survey, 2022

Health behaviours and selected health outcomes were drawn from the ABS National Health Survey 2022. Six indicators were selected to capture key dimensions of physical, behavioural, and mental health: high or very high psychological distress (%), meeting physical activity guidelines (%), current daily smoking (%), exceeding lifetime alcohol risk guidelines (%), meeting fruit consumption guidelines (%), and meeting vegetable consumption guidelines (%).

Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), with high and very high distress combined to represent clinically significant psychological distress. Physical activity was assessed against the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines (2014), which recommend adults accumulate 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity, or equivalent combinations of moderate and vigorous activity, per week. Dietary intake was assessed using the Australian Dietary Guidelines (2013), with guideline adherence defined as consuming at least two serves of fruit per day and at least five serves of vegetables per day. Smoking prevalence reflects the proportion of workers who were current daily smokers. Alcohol risk was assessed using the 2009 NHMRC lifetime alcohol risk guidelines, based on average alcohol consumption over a seven-day period.

All indicators were calculated using weighted person estimates and expressed as percentages. For each metric, prevalence was calculated using explicitly defined denominators, including only respondents with known and in-scope values. Responses that were not applicable or could not be classified were excluded.

All findings reflect self-reported survey data and represent a cross-sectional snapshot of health behaviours and outcomes at the time of the survey.

Characteristics of Employment, 2023 and 2025

Night work and shift work were measured using the ABS’ Characteristics of Employment Survey. Night work was defined as the proportion of employed persons who regularly work any hours at night, reflecting sustained disruption to normal sleep patterns. Shift work was defined as the proportion of workers who usually work shift work, capturing ongoing exposure to non-standard hours rather than temporary scheduling arrangements.

Census, 2021

Commute burden was measured using 2021 Census data as the proportion of employed persons whose one-way distance to work was 30 kilometres or more. This threshold reflects sustained daily travel associated with increased fatigue, stress, and reduced time for recovery.

Safe Work Australia, 2019/20 to 2023/24

Work-related injury risk was assessed using Safe Work Australia workers’ compensation data. Due to the limited availability of injury-specific Worker Compensation Injury Frequency Rates (WCIFR), the estimated rate of mental stress claims per million hours worked was calculated by multiplying the total WCIFR for all injury types by the proportion of claims attributed to mental stress.

Physical injury risk was then derived by subtracting the estimated mental stress WCIFR from the total WCIFR. This approach avoids double-counting and isolates physical injury risk as a distinct component of overall workplace harm.

Labour Force Survey, 2025

Absenteeism was measured using the proportion of employed persons who experienced health-related reductions in working hours during the reference week. This indicator captures short-term work disruption due to illness or injury and serves as a proxy for the immediate health impact of work across industries and occupations.

Weighting and Index Scores

Index components were weighted to reflect both the severity of health harm and the extent to which risks are structurally driven by occupation or industry, rather than individual choice alone.

Health Outcomes, Impact and Harm was assigned the highest weight (40%), as it captures direct and observable evidence of harm already affecting workers’ physical and mental health. This pillar includes workers’ compensation injury rates, mental stress claims, psychological distress, and health-related work disruption, providing a clear measure of real-world consequences associated with different careers.

Work Pattern and Environment was weighted at 35%, recognising the significant role that job design and working conditions play in shaping long-term health risks. Factors such as night work, shift work, commuting burden, and the ability to work from home influence sleep quality, fatigue, stress, and recovery, and are largely determined by occupational structure rather than individual behaviour.

Health Behaviours and Lifestyle Risk was weighted at 25%, acknowledging the importance of behaviours such as physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and diet in determining long-term health outcomes. While these behaviours meaningfully affect wellbeing, they are more indirect and are influenced by broader personal, social, and environmental factors, and were therefore weighted slightly lower than structurally driven risks.

Limitations and Interpretation

This index compares relative health risk across occupations and industries at a population level and should not be interpreted as a measure of individual health or as evidence of direct causation. Results reflect associations between types of work and health outcomes based on a cross-sectional snapshot of nationally representative data.

Several indicators rely on self-reported survey responses, which may be subject to recall or reporting bias, though these effects are expected to be consistent across groups and unlikely to materially affect comparisons. Findings should be interpreted as highlighting systemic differences in work-related health risk and identifying areas where workplace design and policy interventions may have the greatest impact.