Health and safety prosecutions by WorkSafe Victoria led to court-ordered fines totalling $12.4 million last financial year.

The fines and undertakings, from 123 prosecutions, were up by $1.1 million compared with the previous year.

Inspectors also conducted 57,600 workplace inspections and issued almost 16,300 compliance notices, up from 50,177 inspections and 13,943 notices.

WorkSafe says healthcare and social assistance, construction, government, agriculture and manufacturing will be priority industries over the next year.

“We have carefully identified areas where the rate of injuries or fatalities is highest, relative to the size of the industry, and mapped out a path to enable, motivate, influence and enforce better performance and compliance,” WorkSafe’s chief health and safety officer Sam Jenkin said.

Hazards causing the most physical and psychological harm across all sectors include falls from height, violence and aggression, manual handling, bullying and harassment, occupational illness and disease, loading and unloading, and mobile plant.

WorkSafe Victoria aims to reduce the number of deaths by 30% and injuries by 20% over the next five years.

“We have engaged with key stakeholders to set our strategic direction and will use a range of tools – including education, awareness-building and collaborative initiatives – to influence change and improve safety across priority areas,” Mr Jenkin said.