The Regional Workers Memorial Fund walk will raise money to build a memorial park for the victims of workplace deaths

The Regional Workers Memorial Fund Walk will depart from the Waralilly estate at Armstrong Green near Geelong, where Kelly Dubberley was working when he heard the news of the workplace construction accident that claimed the lives of Jack Brownlee and Charlie Howkins.

Jack was the son of Mr Dubberley's best mate Dave Brownlee, who will drive the support vehicle on the walk, and his wife Janine who will also take part.

The fundraising walk is planned to culminate at the Winterfield estate in Delacombe on Sunday, the third anniversary of the trench collapse.

The group plan to walk about 4kmh over four days, with a rest day planned for Saturday, and fundraising events planned along the way.

The death of the two men and a determined campaign from their families led to new industrial manslaughter laws being introduced through the Victorian parliament in July 2019, just 16 months after the Delacombe tragedy.

"To watch what they went through, not just with the passing of Jack and Charlie, but to see the effort they went to get the industrial manslaughter laws through to benefit every Victorian going to work ... I wanted to give back to them," Mr Dubberley said.

The walk will raise funds for a memorial park near the site of the trench collapse. It will be a place not just for the mens' families to grieve and remember, but for anyone who has lost a loved one to a workplace accident.

"It will provide a sacred place to sit down and remember," Mr Dubberley said. "This will be a regional memorial park for everyone who has lost a loved one in the workplace ... and a beautiful place for the community."

In October it was announced Jack and Charlie's families would work with local artist Garry Anderson to design the memorial.

Mr Dubberley said he had been overwhelmed with support for the walk from local businesses and communities along the route, and they will stop at a number of construction sites to raise awareness about workplace safety

The start of the walk comes a day after the state government released the latest figures on workplace deaths.

In 2020, 65 people died due to work related injury or disease, down from 70 the previous year.

"One workplace death is one too many, and the loss of 65 workers in 2020 is absolutely devastating," said Workplace Safety minister Ingrid Stitt.

Ms Stitt reminded employers of the serious consequences of failing to meet health and safety obligations to employees, with the tough new workplace manslaughter laws introduced in 2019 including significant fines and jail time for employers responsible for workplace fatalities.

Under the landmark laws, companies can be fined more than $16 million and individuals face up to 25 years in jail if they fail to meet their occupational health and safety obligations.

The criteria defining a workplace death has also been changed to include deaths from work-related transport incidents, industrial disease, criminal acts, and medical or suicide incidents.

This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of deaths reported by WorkSafe, with 20 workers dying in transport incidents, 13 people dying from a disease contracted at their workplace, one worker who died following a workplace-related medical incident and one workplace-related suicide being included in the toll.

"These are not numbers or statistics. They are loved members of our families and communities. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, siblings, colleagues and team mates, who died as a result of a workplace incident that should have been avoided," said WorkSafe chief executive Colin Radford.

"There is no excuse for taking shortcuts and failing to make health and safety your number one priority.

"It doesn't matter if workers are on a construction site, at the farm, in an office or on the road - health and safety should travel with them wherever they are working," he said.

Public administration and safety was the most dangerous industry in the state in 2020, recording 12 deaths which include the four police officers killed on the Eastern Freeway in April, and five emergency services personnel who died from the effects of diseases contracted at work.

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Other dangerous industries included manufacturing and transport, postal and warehousing (10 deaths respectively); agriculture, forestry and fishing; and construction (nine deaths respectively).

The most dangerous occupation was truck driving following the deaths of nine workers.

Thirty deaths involved moving vehicles and heavy machinery, which were the most dangerous hazards in workplaces.

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