WORKERS in one Australian profession are far more likely to die on the job than any other workers, a Melbourne university study has found.

Truck driving is considered the deadliest profession in the country, with drivers being 13 times more likely to die on the job than any work, Monash University researchers found.

The university analysed more than 120,000 compensation claims lodged and accepted between 2004 and 2015. The study found truck drivers have a 13-fold higher risk of fatal injury compared with other professions.

The Transport Workers Union says the study shows truck drivers are being “utterly failed” at work.

“They are constantly under pressure which results in crashes, deadly incidents at yards and poor mental health,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement on Tuesday.

Researchers found truck driving was the most common job for men across the country, employing one in every 33 workers.

Over the 12-year study, there were 545 compensated work-related fatal injury claims, representing about 45 deaths each year.

Musculoskeletal injuries were the most common injuries recorded, making up nearly 60 per cent of the claims, while the average age of workers’ compensation claims was 44.5 years.

The study also found drivers had significant risk of neurological conditions compared with other age groups which researchers said was suggestive of noise-induced hearing loss from prolonged exposure to noisy environments.

“These findings present a new substantial opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of truck drivers in Australia that has not been previously characterised at a national level,” the study read.

The TWU called for the federal government to take action on low-cost contracts putting drivers under dangerous pressure.