FALSE
Fact: In the past two years, only one out of 600 visits have resulted in a fine!
Fact: Two times as many people have died on farm than have been prosecuted for a workplace incident.
Fact: You will be asked to show some things you are actually doing e.g. don’t show a shiny paperwork folder followed by bald tyres. Show that you regularly service your vehicles and they are fit for the job at hand.
Fact: During a visit, if you have staff, they will be asked what practices are in place on the farm. Safety in a shiny folder on a shelf is not a replacement for good practice.
Fact: If something is not right? To start with you will have a discussion about what could be improved and how – this will be written down. If something is seen to be so dangerous that it’s putting lives at immediate risk, it will be stopped immediately.
This happens to make the workplace safer without imposing penalties.
Fact: If you have been asked to make a change in an area, this is designed to help make your farm a safe place not to impose penalties.
A fine or prosecution will only occur when farmers do not comply with a warning over a period of time and/or when serious non-compliance occurs that involves the potential for injury or death.
Fact: If you have an incident on farm you are legally required to notify WorkSafe (a Government agency) which will send an inspector to see what happened and whether it could have been prevented.
For example; If the incident involved your tractor, WorkSafe may contact your agent to see how regularly the machine was being serviced. If it was well maintained then its a completely different situation to a tractor in poor condition.