This week (14 to 21 July 2024) is National Farm Safety Week which aims to highlight the key risks in the agricultural industry, promote farm safety awareness, and reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in the sector.
The agriculture industry is thriving and critical to Tasmania’s economy, however it can also be one of the most dangerous industries if safe farming practices are not in place.
The 2024 Safer Farms Report by Farmsafe Australia found that although there has been a significant decrease of on-farm fatalities in 2023 (44%), that 30 farmers in Australia have died from on-farm fatalities in the first six months of 2024.
In Tasmania, 16 on-farm related deaths have occurred over the past decade.
This National Farm Safety Week, Safe Farming Australia is launching its In Safe Hands campaign. This campaign shares the stories of six farming businesses across the country, focusing on how they navigate the challenges of work health and safety on their properties.
In Tasmania, the Safe Farming Tasmania Program is a joint initiative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) and WorkSafe Tasmania.
The Safe Farming Tasmania Program aims to reduce farm-work related deaths, injuries and disease as well as improving the health and safety of workers in the farming industry by:
- raising awareness of farm safety issues;
- encouraging discussions about safe farming; and
- providing farmers with support to improve work health and safety conditions as well as practical and easy to understand resources such as hazard checklists, safe work procedures and safety awareness videos.
For more information about safe farming practices and contact details to book an appointment with the Safe Farming team, visit the Safe Farming Tasmania pages on our website.