Helping farmers return home safely

Last year, 18 people died as a result of work-related incidents in agriculture, accounting for 36 per cent of all work related fatalities in 2016. This is significantly higher than any other primary industry.

The introduction of the 2015 Health and Safety at Work Act and WorkSafe’s ongoing scrutiny requires businesses to understand and adapt to minimise potential for harm to employees and contractors.

To help agri-businesses keep their employees and contractors safe, Safetrac has partnered with MinterEllisonRuddWatts to develop an interactive online training course.

Authored by one of the country’s leading law firms, the course provides interactive scenarios including on the farm, in the cow-shed and in a field, so workers can understand the risks and make the best decisions to stay safe.

"Breaching your health and safety obligations and responsibilities is costly for your business, in a financial sense as well as damage to reputation and your team," says Dr Ross Patterson, Partner and founder of Safetrac.

"Building health and safety capability starts with training. But you need to build the ability, skills and aptitude in people so they respond correctly when a situation changes outside the norm.

"It’s about doing what we can to help employees and contractors get home safely."

The course’s content is up to date with the latest legislation, is accessible online for businesses of all sizes with costs starting at $50.

Learn more about Safetrac’s compliance course at safetrac.co.nz/agri

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