Here are some resources of interest to the rural sector:
From WorkSafe Victoria:
- Farming Industry Webpage.
- A Practical Guide to Safety in the Dairy, takes a risk management approach to farm safety. Hazards addressed in the publication include confined spaces, manual handling, working at heights and chemical handling. This publication was updated in May, 2006
- Beef Cattle Handling: A practical guide - provides information on safe cattle handling, how to make existing yards safer and ensure safety features are included in the design of new yards. It includes zoonotic diseases and handling chemicals in yards.
-
Falls prevention, general WorkSafe advice:
- Falls Prevention Above ground fuel tanks
- Guidance Note: Working Safely with Trees - includes advice on controlling hazards and falls prevention
- Some Steps to Reduce Death from Cattle Crushing - providing provides simple design solutions for preventing injuries while loading cattle at saleyards
- Quad bikes or All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) - there have been many fatalities involving quad bikes, including of children:
- Moving Hay Bales Safely
Other Jurisdictions
- From NSW: Safety in forest harvest operations Code of Practice [pdf]
- From Queensland: information and guidance on the agriculture industry.
International
- A resource from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work specifically for the agricultural sector. This website has resources on key issues in the sector including musculoskeletal disorders, transport, dangerous substances, biological agents.
- From the UK's TUC - up to date information on Glyphosate a common weedkiller used all over the world. In March 2015 the International Agency on research into Carcinogens (IARC) announced that glysophate probably caused a type of cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- From the UK's HSE:
- Agricultural health and safety this website provides essential information and guidance on health and safety in agriculture. It is relevant to everyone, whether as an employer, employee or self-employed person. The topic pages set out the main causes of injury and ill health and provide practical guidance to help improve health and safety on your farm. These include pages on machinery, farm transport, preventing falls, and more.
- Also a resource which can be downloaded free (or hard copies purchased): - Farmwise - Your essential guide to health and safety in agriculture. (September 2013)
- Canada's WorkSafeBC (British Colombia) has an Agriculture section and several 'interactive ebooks' and resources on topics such as Falls, Pesticides, and more
Last amended July 2020