Farm safety - risks and hazards
Farm safety - risks and hazards
Farms are high risk workplaces
Farms are high risk workplaces in Australia. This is compounded by the ageing farm workforce, disadvantaged access to medical services, and farm workers being more likely to work alone.
In 2021, the rate of work-related fatalities for agriculture was 10.4 deaths per 100,000 workers. Farming continues to be the highest risk occupation with around eight times the rate of fatality of the general employed population. Many hospital presentations from farm injuries are under-reported and un-reported, making it challenging to accurately measure farm-related incidents.
Over the last 20 years, an average of 79 farmers were killed on farm each year, with two-thirds of cases work-related. Major agents of injury were farm vehicles (39%) and machinery (26%). Workers aged over 55 years accounted for 58% of all work-related incidents and were significantly more likely to die that younger farmers.
In 2021, 46 farm fatalities and 128 non-fatal injuries were recorded. The most common agents of fatality were tractors, quad bikes and side by sides. The most common agents of injury were quad bikes, tractors and horses. Males were over-represented with 87% fatalities; 13% were children aged under 15 years.
Living on farms creates a unique relationship between home and workplace. Multiple generations may also live together on the farm. While this can have benefits, it can also present risks to health, wellbeing and safety. Children and older farmers are at high-risk of farm fatalities and injury. Farmers can become accustomed to hazards and accept risks as part of everyday life, and stop actively looking for ways to reduce risks.
Many farm risks can be managed by following the
Hierarchy of
Control
External Link
. For example:
Elimination
- removing an old tractor (without appropriate safety features) from the farm
Substitution
– using smaller sized containers or packaging to reduce heavy loads
Engineering controls
– reconfiguring livestock yards to minimise physical interaction with animals
Administrative controls
– limiting the number of hours worked and include regular breaks to minimise fatigue
PPE
– using correctly fitted earplugs when exposed to high noise environments
Tips for making your farm safer
Meet with your state-representative farm safety advisor for a farm risk assessment and an employee induction toolkit
Create safe play areas for your children
Maintain all machinery, equipment and infrastructure with routine service and repairs
Simplify farm systems to reduce complexity and confusion
Develop a farm safety culture - make safety a normal part of conversations in your farming business
Provide everyone with their own PPE and allocate a place for clean storage when not in use
Recognise that “better beats perfect” when it comes to safety
Farmsafe
External Link
can offer valuable advice and resources. Download the
workplace
guide
External Link
to begin the process of creating a safer working farm environment.
Where to get help
In an emergency, always call triple zero (000)
Your
GP (doctor)
National Centre for Farmer
Health
External Link
Tel.
(03) 5551 8533
WorkSafe
Victoria
External Link
Tel.
1800 136 089
(advisory service) or
13 23 60
(for emergencies)
15 minute farm safety
check
External Link
Working alone on farms
guidelines
External Link
Farming: Safety
Basics
External Link
Children on
farms
External Link
Department of Energy, Environment and Climate
Action
External Link
. Tel.
136 186
Farmsafe
Australia
External Link
Tel.
(02) 6269 5622
Safe Farms WA -
Farm safety
checklist
External Link
NSW Farm Safety Advisory Program -
WHS
Resources
External Link
Primary Employers Tasmania -
Work Health and
Safety
External Link
Victorian Farmers Federation -
Making our Farms
Safer
External Link
AgHealth Australia -
Reports and
Publications
External Link