Farm Safety Checklists:
Understanding your responsibilities for farm safety, and checklists available in your region.
Keeping your farm safe and compliant is incredibly important, and it can definitely feel like a lot to keep track of. Because health and safety legislation is managed at the state and territory level in Australia, the specific resources vary depending on where your property is located.
Farm Safety is an exhaustive topic with very serious implications, and it can be difficult to know where to start. To get you started, Drover Ag have compiled a list of links to the official WorkSafe (or equivalent) farm safety checklists and guides for each state and territory, plus a couple of excellent national resources.
National Resources (Applicable Everywhere)
- AgHealth Australia (University of Sydney): They offer an incredibly detailed suite of hazard-specific checklists including fatigue management, heat stress, chemical use and machinery checklists.
https://aghealth.sydney.edu.au/resources/resources-for-farmers/ - Farmsafe Australia: Provides excellent national guidance, including child safety checklists and induction templates.
https://farmsafe.org.au/
State and Territory WorkSafe Checklists
New South Wales (NSW): SafeWork Farming Page - Workers employed in agriculture are at greater risk of being killed or injured at work than most. Learn about how to manage the risks and hazards on a farm, including working with animals, vehicles and chemicals.
Victoria (VIC): WorkSafe Victoria have a dedicated WorkSafe page for Agriculture.
- 15-Minute Farm Safety Check is a great place to start - DOWNLOAD
Queensland (QLD): WorkSafe QLD‘s Agriculture Page provides a dedicated Farm Safety Checklist (scroll down to the "Tools" section on the page to find the Word document download).
Western Australia (WA): WorkSafe WA offers a dedicated Farm Safety Checklist alongside their broader safety guides - DOWNLOAD
South Australia (SA): SafeWork SA has a thorough Farm Safety Self-Assessment Checklist - DOWNLOAD.
Tasmania (TAS): WorkSafe Tasmania runs the Safe Farming Tasmania program, offering a practical induction handbook and checklists.
Northern Territory (NT): NT WorkSafe provides the Guide to Managing the Risks of Machinery in Rural Workplaces - DOWNLOAD.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT): Because agriculture makes up a smaller portion of the ACT's industry, WorkSafe ACT generally defers to the broader national standards. The AgHealth and Farmsafe Australia links at the top of this list are your best resources here.
