Advocates are calling for more farm safety funding in Queensland. 

Australia's 2022 Safer Farms Report (accessible in PDF form) shows there were 19 farm-related fatalities and 86 injuries in Queensland last year, compared to 10 fatalities and 23 injuries in New South Wales, and six fatalities and 13 injuries in Victoria.

In the first half of 2022, Queensland saw three fatalities and 18 serious injuries.

Farmsafe Queensland director Jamie Cupples says there is no more state government funding for an extension service that teaches farm safety. He took private ownership of the entity after its board was disbanded when the funding ran out.

“We're [FarmSafe Queensland] not funded any longer to get out there and talk to people. That should be reinstated, in our view,” he has told reporters.

“I think that we've been behind the eight ball up here [in Queensland].”

Around Australia, farm machinery is the biggest killer, with tractors, quad bikes, and side-by-side vehicles responsible for 57 per cent of all fatalities.

In 2021, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) introduced requirements for all new quad bikes to be fitted with crash protection devices, or roll bars.

This has led many farmers to transition to side-by-side vehicles, which typically feature more seats, seatbelts, a steering wheel and a roll cage.

Side-by-side vehicles are considered less likely to tip over and therefore safer, but they now make up 15 per cent of fatalities compared to quads bikes at 20 per cent.

“So they're not that far behind,” Mr Cupples said.

“All of the modern side-by-sides are fitted with seatbelts and rollover protection rails so [there is a] very good chance of surviving that incident.

“Whereas if they don't have the seatbelt on they'd go straight out the door, and that's what happening.

“They're getting ejected from the machine and the machine is rolling over the top of them.”

Overall, the national farm fatality rate is dropping, with the latest report showing the total number of people killed on farms in Australia has dropped below 50 for the first time in a decade.

“While we acknowledge that decrease, 46 deaths is still a tragedy,” says Farmsafe Australia chair Felicity Richards.

“Safety is something we should prioritise. Afterall, everyone is somebody's child.”

In 2015, the Queensland government put together a dedicated Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) agriculture unit to assist businesses, monitor compliance, and take enforcement action.

It no longer funds Farmsafe Queensland programs, but there is a push for this money to be reinstated to bring the state into line with other programs.