Agricultural Machinery Safety: Regulating the Workplace

The challenge of ensuring OHS in the agricultural sector is substantially different from that in manufacturing, construction or many other "traditional" areas of concern. The problems are exacerbated when it comes to the hazards of farm machinery, where the rate of injury is particularly high. This article identifies the major deficiencies of the existing legislation and standards, and makes recommendations for a best practice regulatory regime, with a focus on duty holders at the workplace and those who may be endangered by their activities. In particular, it argues that substantial improvements might be achieved through using a combination of regulatory tools (including information, education and incentives) that are underpinned in each case by regulation.