Increase in drop zone incidents across Queensland's resources industry
There have been hundreds of incidents involving falling objects across Queensland's resources industry over the last few years, according to data from Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ).
The state's resources regulator, RSHQ, issued a Safety Alert to industry today alerting them to the increase in incidents involving people who were in, or potentially exposed to, hazards in designated drop zones.
Since July 2023 there have been more than 300 of those incidents across coal mines, mineral mines, quarries and petroleum and gas sites.
RSHQ CEO Rob Djukic said while most people avoided injury, there was a serious risk of harm or even death.
"In one instance, a dragline fan motor fell almost 8 metres from a warehouse pallet racking, hitting a forklift and only just missing a worker," said Mr Djukic.
"The worker was lucky to escape injury.
"In another instance at a coal mine, a lifting point inside a ventilation fan was being used to suspend a shaft but the lift point failed allowing the shaft to fall, hitting a worker's leg and causing an ankle injury.
"We've created a Safety Alert that outlines key learnings and recommendations for industry.
"I strongly encourage all sites to consider how they might incorporate this into their risk assessments, systems and work planning."
RSHQ's data showed the most common safety deficiencies were in:
- lifting operations
- hazard and risk management
- change management
- work behaviour and compliance
- maintenance and equipment integrity
- site controls
- material handling.
Drop zone incidents in Queensland's coal, petroleum and gas, mineral mines and quarries (MMQ):
- 2025: 141
- 2024: 113
- (Jul-Dec) 2023: 61
Editor's note: While coal and MMQ have individually seen an increase, the petroleum and gas sector has actually seen a small decrease within the past 12 months.
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ENDS
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Last updated: 03 Dec 2025