Rural women play a significant role in shaping the safety culture of the farms where they live and work and, the communities in which they live. And with agriculture still overrepresented in statistics about workplace accidents, it is so important that we are brave enough to speak up about safety on farms.
People working in agriculture make up about 14 per cent of annual fatalities, despite the industry only employing about two per cent of Victoria’s workforce. Serious injuries are also common, with an average of eight people every week working in agriculture injured seriously enough to make a worker’s compensation claim.
Now is the time to have a safety conversation and start investing in safety for the future of your business, your employees and your families. Don’t know where to start? Contact one of our partner organisations for more information:
- The Victorian Farmers Federation Farm Safety Advisors may be able to help identify safety equipment and infrastructure that would be beneficial for your farm, call 1300 882 833.
- WorkSafe provides agriculture safety information in addition to the OHS Essentials program which is a free workplace safety consultation service, delivered by independent occupational health and safety (OHS) experts. The service is a great way to receive free, independent and personalised advice to manage safety at your workplace, call 1800 136 089 for more information.
- Kidsafe Victoria has resources including the Farm Safety Checklist and a Parent’s Guide to Kidsafe Farms, call (03) 9036 2306 for more information.
The Farm Safety Rebate (now fully subscribed) is a key component of Smarter, Safer Farms, a $20 million Victorian Government commitment to improve safety and skills outcomes for Victorian farmers. To learn about other Victorian Government programs or services and resources on topics such as farm business resilience, farm safety, wellbeing and new technologies visit https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/about/agriculture-in-victoria/smarter-safer-farms or call 136 186.
