Farm Safety Blitz Finds Trouble in the Rows
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A SafeWork NSW inspection blitz has found 44 safety breaches across parts of the farming sector, with five labor hire firms on the Coffs Coast and elsewhere ordered to stop work in certain areas. That is the kind of news that makes every farm manager pause between sips of coffee.
Labor hire is common in horticulture, where harvest windows are tight and crops do not wait politely for staffing schedules. But when outside crews come onto a farm, responsibility can get muddy fast. Who checked training? Who inspected housing? Who made sure machinery, transport, chemical handling, and heat safety were covered? Regulators are increasingly saying: if work happens on your farm, you had better know how it is happening.
The ABC report also connects the blitz to broader concerns around worker exploitation and modern slavery risks. That is serious ground. Agriculture depends on seasonal and migrant workers in many regions, and good growers know that protecting people is not just about avoiding penalties. It is about running a farm you can be proud to hand down.
For farmers, the practical message is to tighten the gate before trouble walks through it. Vet labor contractors. Keep written records. Confirm workers understand safety procedures in a language they can actually use. Check accommodation, transport, PPE, chemical protocols, and machinery induction. A handshake is neighborly, but documentation is what keeps the roof on when regulators arrive.
The best farms treat safety like irrigation: routine, monitored, and too important to leave until something wilts. A productive harvest should never depend on cutting corners with the people doing the picking.
Original source
ABC News (AU) - Read original articleMore from today's edition
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