The next phase of Victoria’s Making Our Farms Safer project will provide tools and tailored support to make farms safe places to live, work or visit
A $2.6 million funding agreement between WorkSafe and the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has been announced to deliver the next phase of the Making Our Farms Safer project.
The funding will expand the project’s dedicated safety advisory service, which delivers on-farm, in-person support to identify and help manage key risks, while also supporting farmers with a range of tools and resources to adopt better on-farm health and safety practices.
Agriculture employs about two per cent of the Victorian workforce but is considered one of the state’s high-risk industries, accounting for 33 work-related deaths since 2021, according to the Victorian government.
In the same period, WorkSafe accepted 2,458 claims from Victorian workers seriously injured in the sector.
This next phase of the Making Our Farms Safer project will have a stronger focus on high-risk areas such as cattle handling and the use of machinery including tractors and attachments, quad bikes and side-by-sides – which together account for more than a quarter of all farm injuries.
As part of this funding boost, the VFF will visit hundreds of farms, organise more safety activations, presentations and events, and help provide farmers with more practical support from industry experts and peers who understand the unique realities of farm life.
“Farmers have relied on the VFF Making Our Farms Safer project since 2020, and the team will continue working hard to improve safety and reduce the tragic overrepresentation of agriculture in workplace incidents,” VFF CEO Charlie Thomas says.
“Nothing beats in-person, tailored safety advice to your farm. The team will be busy conducting on-farm safety visits and I encourage all farmers to take advantage of the free resources on offer.”