The last 12 months have seen quite a few changes to employee relations with many changes to the Fair Work Act, and with more to come in 2025 including the introduction of Wage Theft on 1 January, 2025 and changes to the minimum rates of pay in the Awards.

However, of greater concern was the increase in the number of deaths on farms across Australia.

In 2023 there were 32 deaths on farms across Australia but by November this year there have been 53 deaths. A staggering number.

It wasn’t surprising that quad bikes and tractors topped the agents that fatalities were attributed to, one in three deaths, however, what was interesting is that horses and cattle rose significantly in the serious injury statistics, accounting for a combined 28% of all reported serious injuries. Quad bikes still topped the injury statistics, accounting for 29% of serious injuries.

FarmSafe Australia’s Annual Report for the 2023 year shows the some details of the fatalities and injuries as follows. (2024 not yet available)

(Image Source: Safer Farms Agricultural Fatality and Injury Report 2024)

In our last newsletter we highlighted that with the school holidays upon us extra care needs to be taken with children home on the farm and children visiting farms. The figures above highlight the potential outcomes if care is not taken.

Ageing as a safety risk is also very important with over 44% of 2023 fatalities occurring in farmers over the age of 60.

We encourage all members to make safety an integral part of responsible and successful farming so that 2025 is safer for everyone in agriculture.

We recommend  you download and read both the Safer Farms Agricultural Fatality and Injury Report 2024 and the FarmSafe Australia Safer Farms Report 2024. 

Primary Employers Tasmania is a proud member of FarmSafe Australia. We thank FarmSafe Australia for allowing us to provide links to their podcasts and fact sheets in our newsletters.

Primary Employers Tasmania is also a foundation member of the Safe Farming Tasmania Reference Group. For on the ground support contact Safe Farming Tasmania who can visit your farm and help you implement a Safety Management Plan tailored to your particular farm’s needs. Phone: 0400 140 146. email: stuart.beams@safefarming.tas.gov.au.