The transport and storage industry recorded the highest number of deaths, with 65 workers killed on the job in 2012, comparison website Life Insurance Finder found.

Transport and storage workers accounted for nearly one-third of all workplace deaths that year.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing is Australia's second-most dangerous line of work, with 53 deaths in 2012. Workers in this industry are more likely to die from being hit by an animal, drowning and heat exposure than any other industry on the top 10 list, the research found.

Finder spokeswoman Michelle Hutchison said vehicle collisions caused most fatalities, with one in three workplace deaths occurring on the road.

Muscular stress while lifting, carrying or putting down objects was the most common cause of serious injury across all industries.

"Many Australian workers have to drive vehicles or lift things as part of their job and they may not realise how dangerous their work can be," she said.

Construction workers have the third-most dangerous job, with 30 fatalities in 2012. Falling from a height was the most common cause of death, accounting for 40 per cent of construction deaths.

Manufacturing – Australia's fourth-deadliest industry – also had the highest rate of injury, with 16,670 or 1.8 per cent of workers injured in 2012, according to the research.

Ms Hutchison said many people would be surprised to find retail trade was Australia's seventh-most dangerous line of work.

"You may not think that a sales assistant has a dangerous job," she said. However, retail trade workers sustained more than 11,000 serious injuries and six fatalities in 2012.

Driving, explosions, contact with chemicals and being trapped between objects were the most common causes of death for retail workers.

Transport Workers Union assistant national secretary Michael Kaine said the union had been campaigning for a safer road transport industry for more than 20 years.

"Road transport workers are 15 times more likely to be killed at work than any other worker in Australia," he said.

Other jobs on the list included public administration, safety and defence (13 deaths, 5330 injuries); mining (seven deaths, 2670 injuries); professional, scientific and technical services (six deaths, 2100 injuries); wholesale trade (five deaths, 5315 injuries); and utilities (five deaths, 530 injuries).

The list ranks jobs based on the number of deaths in 2012. The research defines a serious injury as resulting in an absence from work of one week or more.