WorkSafe Tasmania

WorkSafe Tasmania

Safe and well every day

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing snapshot 2020

The workforce

This industry grouping covers a wide range of activities, separated into fifteen groups:

  • Agriculture and fishing support services
  • Aquaculture
  • Dairy cattle farming
  • Deer farming
  • Fishing
  • Forestry and logging
  • Forestry support services
  • Fruit and tree nut growing
  • Hunting and trapping
  • Mushroom and vegetable growing
  • Nursery and floriculture production
  • Other crop growing
  • Other livestock farming
  • Poultry farming
  • Sheep, beef cattle and grain farming

7% of the total Tasmanian workforce

7% of workers aged 65+, around 1.5x the proportion statewide — the third highest of all industries

The injuries

453 injuries across the industry in 2020

11.4 serious injuries per million hours worked

25% higher than the state average of 9.1

21% higher serious injury frequency rate in 2020 than ten years ago

The people

Agriculture and fishing support services reported the highest serious injury frequency rate at 41 serious injuries per million hours worked

2 in 5 workers injured in the last ten years worked in either Dairy cattle farming or Aquaculture

The causes

The most common causes of injury across the industry

  • Body stressing
  • Falls, slips and trips
  • Being hit by moving objects
  • Hitting objects with a part of the body

Action areas

Priority conditions and causes identified in the WorkSafe Strategic Plan 2018-2023 that are relevant to the industry:

  • Musculoskeletal disorders
  • Hazardous manual tasks
  • Slips, trips and falls
  • Safe movement of vehicles and plant
Last updated: 18 May 2023
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