The Lost Calendar Day rate is the number of calendar days that employees could not work because of work-related injuries and illnesses per 100,000 hours worked. This provides one measure of the severity of injuries and illnesses. It is important to remember that the rate can also vary because of medical and disability management aspects of these events and that some illnesses such as hearing loss and sensitisation can result in permanent disability without resulting in lost time.

There were 14,077 lost days due to injury and 1,932 lost days due to illness in 2002 excluding work-related mental illness. Musculoskeletal illness, generally caused by cumulative trauma, was the leading cause of lost days due to ilness at 75%. Illnesses resulting in permanent disability, such as noise induced hearing loss, sensitisations, and some cases of cancer and musculoskeletal illness also merit a special preventive focus. Approximately nine percent of 2002 illnesses resulted in permanent disabilities. Slips, trips and falls were the leading type of lost days due to injury, accounting for 30% of lost days, followed by motor vehicle accidents with 23%.