Farming remains deadly in Australia

26 July 2000



Farming remains deadly in Australia

by Boyd Champness

Three people die on Australian farms every week, making farming one of Australias more hazardous occupations, a new study has found.

And unless something is done to improve Australias farm safety measures, another 65 families will be mourning the loss of a loved one by the end of the year.

According to a report compiled by the Australian Centre for Agriculture Health and Safety (ACAHS) and the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, someone dies in a farm-related accident in Australia about every two and a half days.

That equates to about 20 deaths a year for every 100,000 people involved in agriculture and a fatality rate four times higher than Australias total industry average, according to the report which was published in The Land newspaper.

The report is based on coronial records for the four years from 1989 to 1992.

It is the most recent and comprehensive data on farm fatalities available and looks set to be the platform for the development of a raft of new and improved injury prevention strategies for agriculture, the newspaper said.

ACAHS director of farm injury research Mr Richard Frank told The Age newspaper that farm injuries cost Australia between $A500 million and $A1.3 billion a year.

Mr Frank said dangerous machinery, unpredictable animals, large scale mechanism and an attitude that paints accidents as acts of God all contributed to the figures.