Farmers work in the elements. With large animals. With chemicals. With heavy machinery. At heights. In confined spaces. With heavy loads. Alone. Sometimes Fatigued. And in isolation.
We have the right information to support your unique farming workplace to become safer.
This publication aims to provide practical guidelines for employers and workers to improve and ensure the safety of those who work in farm workshops, and those who are in the vicinity of areas where fabrication, machinery service, maintenance and repair is undertaken.
This guide has been developed to increase your awareness of some of the less obvious risks, known as psychosocial risks, that you and your staff face daily on your farm, and what your role is in mitigating those risks.
Each year many Victorians lose their lives in agricultural workplaces. Often these deaths are associated with working alone. This guide from WorkSafe Victoria will help you manage working alone on farms.
The Mental Health and Wellbeing of farmers and farm families has been an ongoing area of research and development for the Centre.
Following the Farm Family Business project funded by the Department of Family and Community Services, the resource “Managing the Pressures of Farming” was produced and continues to be distributed widely.
The South Australian guide covers some of the most common risks faced by farmers, such as plant and machinery and industry-specific hazards (like stockyards and hay baling). Practical safety solutions and tips for compliance are provided throughout.
The VFF Making Our Farms Safer project has created this SOP video on Side-by-Side Vehicles, to help you stay safer on one of the most used and dangerous pieces of farm machinery.
Working children often learn to drive farm utes or four wheel drive (4WD) vehicles before advancing to tractors and other farm machinery.
Many children on farms learn to ride two wheel motorcycles recreationally before they progress towards riding motorcycles to perform farm work.
Teaching children to ride motorbikes recreationally is strongly recommended before allowing them to ride bikes on the farm.
Water and effluent are significant hazards on farms. On average, five children drown on Australian farms each year. Most are under the age of five and a third are visitors.