Federated Farmers: Farms are more than a workplace

Federated Farmers policy advisor Nick Hanson

The Health and Safety Reform Bill has been reintroduced to Parliament after the transport and industrial relations select committee reported back with alterations.

This report had cast much trepidation in the farming community with concern about the impact the new Act could have on farming both in terms of compliance costs and the farming lifestyle.

The proposed Bill is a significant part of the Government's reform programme with serious implications for farmers and rural people.

But the regulator's message is that the basic duty of the current health and safety legislation remains, which means farmers should do what you reasonably can to keep yourself and staff safe.

Federated Farmers made a written submission which we presented to the select committee in person during 2014.

Our submission focused on the uniqueness of farming compared to urban workplaces. Unpredictable and difficult to control factors such as weather, animals and working in isolation contribute to risk, and the added element of the blurred line between farms as workplaces and as homes added extra complication.

The principal change to the reform Bill that has benefited farmers has been the reclassification of farms as they relate to workplaces.

Under the current legislation, and under the initial draft of the bill, the whole farm would be classified as a workplace at all times, which would have exposed farmers to liability for recreational visitors, family and friends when they are on their farm for non-work purposes.

The select committee report altered the definition to clarify that farm structures and their surrounding areas, like yards etc, are considered workplaces, but the rest of the farm will only fall under the jurisdiction of the Act when there is someone working in that area.

There remains confusion over the arrangements between different types of business in the same place. For example there is potential for farmer owners and sharemilkers to have overlapping duties which would require them to collaborate to the extent that each has influence over the work being done.

It may be that this is reasonable but the Bill is not clear on exactly how that part of the Act could be implemented.

In an additional step, the Government has announced that they will specifically exclude the farm house from the scope of the Bill, even though the select committee report did not recommend it.

This was a key recommendation in Federated Farmers submission and is positive, although worker accommodation will still be covered by the Bill in some circumstances.