Tradie’s death referred to NT Worksafe. A much-loved Darwin tradie, who fell to his death on February 3 2016 was a "LARRIKIN" rigger known as a stickler for safety fell more than 60m to his death in front of his mates after climbing a Telstra tower without a harness on, a coronial inquest has heard.

Mr Kyle-Little, who was working for a Telstra subcontractor, fell after climbing back up the tower without a harness to retrieve tools left behind over lunch.

Unions are calling for tougher safety regulations and enforcement to stop workers falling to their deaths at worksites, saying more people will be killed unless self-regulation is scrapped.

Falls from heights are a major cause of death and injury in Australian workplaces, according to Safe Work Australia.

Of the 800,000 Australians who work at heights, including tradesmen, cleaning, and maintenance workers, on average 26 of them fall to their death each year, and almost 8,000 are injured.