Safety, health and wellbeing on farms
Farms are homes as well as workplaces. We all have a part to play in improving farm safety, health and wellbeing.
Farms make up 14% of all workplace fatalities, despite employing only 2 % of working Victorians. On average, 2 people are injured on Victorian farms every day. Some of the key risk factors for injury or death on farms are:
- Working long hours and in isolation
- Unsafe or unfamiliar equipment use
- Animal handling
- Electrical safety.
People living and working in farming communities can have ongoing mental health challenges linked to high exposure to natural disasters and extreme climate events.
Farming activities are also linked to chronic health problems - such as hearing loss, chronic pain and respiratory problems. These affect the wellbeing of our farming communities.
Machinery and farm technology improvements have reduced safety hazards over time, but there is still more we can do to reduce risks and improve mental health concerns.
There is a need to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of people living, working and playing on farms are prioritised in everyday farm decisions - to create a culture of safety on farms.
To change farm safety culture, industry, government and others need to provide consistent messaging and minimise barriers to safety.
The Victorian Government is investing in initiatives to improve farm safety which you can read about below.
Farming Safe and Well program
Farming Safe and Well is a $2.1 million program delivering activities and resources to improve farm safety outcomes in Victoria over 3 years.
The program is delivering farm safety communications and engagement activities and targeted interventions to address farm safety priorities, including protocols to address the farm safety risks associated with natural disasters.
Farming Safe and Well builds on the successes of the Smarter, Safer Farms program by:
- Improving farm safety culture by designing resources based on behavioural evidence.
- Collaborating with other agencies and organisations to extend on their program activities with a focus on cross-promotion rather than duplication.
- Developing capability across Agriculture Victoria’s services, networks and programs to support improved farm safety culture.
Farming Safe and Well partners with other organisations, including:
- National Centre for Farmer Health - Shifting Gears
- University of Canberra – Regional Wellbeing Survey
- Fruit Growers Victoria – Farm safety videos
- Gardiner Foundation - engagement of CALD people in agriculture
Making Our Farms Safer
The Victorian Government is partnering with the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) to deliver the Making Our Farms Safer project.
Making our Farms Safer improves safety outcomes on Victorian farms by providing free services and resources to all Victorian farmers through farm safety advisory services and other activities which support workplace safety.
Making Our Farms Safer resources include:
- Stay farming longer and safer – a handbook for older farmers and their families.
- Dining table talks – a video series of key OH&S topics regularly discussed during farm safety visits.
- Child safety on farms – a guidebook for farming parents, grandparents, and caregivers.
- Farm machinery safe operating procedures – a series of videos to support farmers in correctly carrying out high-risk tasks.
National Centre for Farmer Health
Agriculture Victoria partners with the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) to support delivery of key health programs to farming communities in Victoria. The NCFH contributes to continuing farm safety culture change and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for farmers and their families, and provides support to farming communities during crisis events, such as bushfires and floods.
Farmers, farm workers and farming families are encouraged to take charge of their health and book for a free health check today, get involved in the NCFH programs or access health, wellbeing and safety resources.
Shifting Gears – supporting educators to deliver farm safety education
Farming Safe and Well is providing free access for Victorian teachers to the National Centre for Farmer Health Shifting Gears resources. These resources will soon be available at no cost through to early 2026. The Shifting Gears program provides educators with appropriate teaching materials to facilitate meaningful discussions on farm safety within the classroom. These resources are suitable for students year 9 to 12 and may be of interest for students who live or work on farms or have an interest in agriculture, such as those enrolled in agriculture or horticulture studies.
This teacher-led approach to improving farm safety culture will equip young people with farm safety knowledge to help address the risks they are exposed to when visiting, living, and working on farms.
For more information about the program head to Shifting Gears .
Regional Wellbeing Survey
The Regional Wellbeing Survey collects data across rural and regional Australia to better understand wellbeing, liveability and resilience in the rural and regional communities. Since 2020, Agriculture Victoria has partnered with the University of Canberra to develop a deeper understanding of work health and safety risks among the Victorian agriculture workforce.
The Farming Safe and Well program is funding an expanded sample of Victorian farmers in the 2025 survey to examine farm safety culture change.
Information collected in the survey is used to assess quality of life for those living in rural and regional communities and helps to inform health and wellbeing program design. Get involved in the Regional Wellbeing Survey and sign up to email updates.
Reports from the Regional Wellbeing Survey results are available online.
Other farm safety resources
Each short AgVic Talk episode provides a snapshot of rural Victoria through real-life stories from young farmers, rural women, aspiring leaders and those whose lifetime of experience is giving them an opportunity to guide and help others in agriculture.
Episodes on farm health and safety dive into farmers’ experiences across the state, discussing near misses and incidents that have made them realise that their most important farm asset is the people who listen and work there. These farm safety episodes were delivered as part of the Smarter, Safer Farms program.
Subscribe and listen to AgVic Talk wherever you get your podcasts or listen online.
WorkSafe Victoria provides industry specific workplace health and safety information for agriculture which includes practical advice tailored for each sector and key safety topics, including fatigue, safety gear and safer cattle handling.
Victorian farmers share their experiences with proactive farm safety and how they have prioritised safety on their farms through case studies and farm safety videos.
Subscribe to email updates to get the latest agriculture updates in an email newsletter.
For general advice relating to farm safety, please contact WorkSafe Victoria on 1800 136 089. WorkSafe can offer free confidential safety audits and advice.
For information about electrical safety on farms, including powerline safety and gas safety, visit Energy Safe Victoria.
Farming Safe and Well is partnering with Fruit Growers Victoria (FGV) to deliver farm safety videos focused on cold room storage and picking fruit at heights, translated in 5 additional languages to support culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) workers.
FGV is the peak body for fruit growing, packing and exporting across the north-east Goulburn Valley, central and southern growing regions of Victoria. FGV provides a range of resources for fruit growers and their workers, including a range of farm safety videos for on-farm work and packing shed safety.
Head to Fruit Growers Victoria to watch their current safety videos:
Agriculture Victoria is partnering with the Gardiner Foundation on a program to accelerate the engagement of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people in the agriculture workforce in Victoria. The program supports placed-based solutions for agriculture industries in the Goulburn Valley and Gippsland regions. Farming Safe and Well funding in this partnership ensures there is a focus on the safety and wellbeing of CALD workers in the program.
The accelerating CALD engagement in agriculture program is being led by the Gardiner Foundation through to June 2027. Visit the Gardiner Foundation for more information on how the Foundation is supporting the agriculture industry in Victoria.
The Better Health Channel has a range of resources, services and support for a range of health issues faced by rural and regional communities.
- Information about farm safety, including chemicals and spray drift, crush injuries, handling animals, risks and hazards, and children on farms.
- Rural, regional and farming mental health services.
- Information about rural issues, including suggestions for families in crisis, coping with stress, and alcohol and depression.
Visit Kidsafe Victoria for farm safety resources for parents and carers such as the parent’s guide to kid safe farms and farm safety checklist.
Lifeline – access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.
Beyond Blue – information and support for anxiety, depression and suicide prevention.
Headspace – provides early intervention mental health services to 12–25 year olds.
TIACS – a free confidential phone and text counselling service offering mental help support to farmers, blue collar workers, and those who care about them.
ifarmwell – a free online tool kit to help farmers cope effectively with life’s challenges.
Past farm safety programs
Smarter, Safer Farms
Smarter, Safer Farms was a $20 million program between 2018–2022. It invested in projects for farm safety and wellbeing to influence Victoria’s farm safety culture and reduce the number of deaths and injuries on farms. The program also delivered a skills program which provided targeted training to build capability in financial literacy, risk management, farm planning and adaption to climate change.
Project areas included:
- Bush nursing in Gippsland – a 12-month preventative healthcare project for remote communities in East Gippsland in 2021 delivered by the Victorian Department of Health.
- Farm Safety Council – the council provided leadership and guidance across Smarter, Safer Farms project areas to meet the safety, health and wellbeing needs of the agriculture sector into the future.
- Farm safety rebate scheme – funded over 1000 farms to make permanent safety improvements.
- Farm safety creative competition – Kidsafe Victoria raised farm safety awareness among pre-school and primary school aged children in Victoria through a colouring competition.
- Resilient farming communities – funded 11 community organisations to deliver programs that enhanced social connectedness through community events and training, along with increasing awareness of mental health treatment options and care and support services.
- Preparing students for a career in agriculture – 20 Gear Up for Ag Health and Safety™ practical and interactive workshops were delivered to participating secondary schools. Visit NCFH for more information.
- SmartSkills from SmartFarms – this project connected communities with science and collaborated with education providers and industry to build capability and future skills. The project invested in 5 SmartFarms at Ellinbank, Hamilton, Horsham, Mildura and Tatura, and the Get into AgSTEM program for upper primary and secondary students to develop capability in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).