New SafeWork SA campaign aims to improve safety on farms

SafeWork SA has launched a year-long farm safety campaign to cut work-related deaths and serious injuries across South Australia's agriculture industry. From 1 October 2025, inspectors spend 12 months enforcing Work Health and Safety laws on rural properties, supported by education, advice and practical guidance.

Campaign snapshot

• Regulator: SafeWork SA, the state authority for occupational health and injury prevention
• Activity: A major awareness campaign paired with proactive on-farm inspections
• Duration: Twelve months, commencing 1 October 2025
• Scope: Farms, stations and holdings engaged in agriculture statewide
• Trigger: Six deaths and at least 13 serious injuries reported during 2024-25
• Goal: Embedding a stronger safety culture throughout the primary production industry

Why the farming sector is under the microscope

Agriculture consistently ranks among the most hazardous parts of the Australian economy. Work in agriculture blends heavy machinery, livestock, chemical handling and isolated locations, often with limited supervision and long seasonal hours that erode both physical and mental health.

SafeWork SA was notified of six workplace deaths in the sector, plus no fewer than 13 serious injuries, for 2024-25. Fatal incidents comprised three involving quadbikes, one operator trapped in farm machinery and two people trapped inside grain silos.

Executive Director Glenn Farrell said fatalities and severe harm leave a lasting emotional toll on families, colleagues and regional communities.

“SafeWork SA wants to work with farmers to make a safety culture part of agriculture and help reduce the number of workplace incidents,” Glenn said.

What inspectors will be looking for

Visits test whether a business can identify hazards, apply effective controls and demonstrate that duty holders understand their legal obligations. Officers hold powers to enter any workplace, including family-run holdings, and four risk areas dominate industry injury data.

Guarding on plant and machinery

Entanglement remains a leading cause of permanent harm. Power take-off shafts, augers, balers and elevators must stay guarded, with isolation completed before repairs begin.

Registered plant such as boilers and pressure equipment needs current documentation. Inexperienced operators entering the industry require close supervision before running powered machinery unaided.

Electrical hazards near sheds and paddocks

Contact with overhead powerlines during harvest continues to injure and kill. Tipping trailers, augers, irrigation pipe and elevated attachments have all triggered electrical incidents on cropping properties, so travel routes and clearance distances belong on a property map before equipment moves.

Portable electrical tools in workshops need testing and tagging, residual current devices should protect every outdoor power circuit, and only a licensed contractor may perform fixed electrical installation work. Our coverage of the SafeWork silica safety campaign shows how similar compliance campaigns unfold.

Confined spaces and silos

Two deaths last year involved silos. Stored fodder and seed can form bridges that collapse without warning, while sealed structures may develop hazardous atmospheres carrying little oxygen.

Entry demands a permit, atmospheric monitoring, a standby person, tested rescue arrangements and electrical isolation of augers plus unloading gear.

Quadbikes and mobile plant

Rollover protection, helmets, structured training and sensible speed limits reduce quadbike trauma. Side-by-side machines fitted with seatbelts suit many jobs better, and manufacturer load limits should never be exceeded. Scheduled servicing keeps brakes, tyres and steering inside specification.

What the initiative means for farm businesses

Enforcement forms only half the story. SafeWork SA has signalled that collaboration, not confrontation, drives this program, which includes free resources, advice lines and property-level education.

Producers able to show documented risk assessments for plant, chemical storage and animal handling stand in a strong position when an inspector arrives. Walk each shed and paddock, list hazards honestly, then close gaps in order of severity.

Three practical priorities:

• Documentation — safe operating procedures, plant maintenance schedules and induction records
• Consultation — toolbox talks with family members, contractors and seasonal staff
• Emergency planning — first aid, remote communication and fire response; our Fire Prevention on Farms SOP covers seasonal controls

How the campaign fits wider industry efforts

Regulators nationally now combine enforcement with storytelling. Queensland released an animated production aimed at lifting mine safety, while earlier SafeWork SA programs designed to improve workplace safety proved that visible inspection blitzes shift behaviour faster than paperwork alone. Industry associations, machinery dealers and rural suppliers each carry part of the message.

Peak industry groups also supply benchmarking figures, template documents and training subsidies that smaller enterprises can access. Where a holding sits below the accepted industry standard for plant guarding or operator instruction, that shortfall usually surfaces in incident records long before a regulator knocks.

Practical resources for South Australian producers

SafeWork SA publishes industry-specific guidance covering machinery, silos, livestock and child safety on rural properties. National material from Safe Work Australia complements state advice, and industry-led bodies such as Farmsafe Australia issue seasonal reminders ahead of harvest.

Digital systems help as well. Cloud-based safety software lets a business log inspections, capture training evidence and track corrective actions from a phone in the back paddock — an approach already routine across the construction industry.

Frequently asked questions

When does the SafeWork SA farm safety campaign begin?

Compliance activity starts 1 October 2025 and continues for a full year.

Will inspectors issue penalties?

Yes. Improvement notices, prohibition notices and fines remain available wherever serious risk goes uncontrolled, though the regulator emphasises support for operations making genuine progress. Experience across the industry suggests early visits more often end with direction than prosecution.

Does this program apply outside South Australia?

No, although duties closely mirror harmonised legislation interstate. Enterprises operating across the Tasman can review our safety documents for New Zealand businesses to confirm equivalent obligations. Every farming industry participant, whatever the jurisdiction, benefits from identical fundamentals: guarding, isolation, competent training and honest reporting.

Read more here.