SSAA NSW

37 ISSUE 60 JUNE 2021 Due to the ever-changing landscape of insurance and the insurance markets, Safe work Australia has named the agricultural sector one of seven priority areas dealing with workplace health and safety. There are several ways to protect yourself and your assets. On average, more than 40 agricultural workers die each year, with about 80% of those occurring on farms and rural properties. Furthermore, six out of 10 fatalities are involved in plants, machinery and vehicles. Farm vehicles such as quad bikes cause the most fatalities on farms and rural properties. They have killed more than 280 people in the past two decades. The causes included: • carrying heavier loads than the design allows; • driver speed/negligence/recklessness/lack of training; • poor maintenance; • uneven terrain; • not wearing personal protective clothing like helmets; and • allowing minors to drive adult-sized quad bikes. Last October, the new Australian Safety Standards came into force for new and imported quad bikes and from October this year, these new rules will apply. All new and second-hand, imported, utility quad bikes should have minimum stability levels and an operator protection device (like roll-over protection). These changes came about due to a 2019 matter where a farmer was ordered to pay $400,000 in compensation to someone injured on their farm, while riding the farmer's quad bike. You can protect yourself and your rural workplace against a range of risks with a customised insurance package for your farm business or hobby farm. Adding farm machinery cover to your package means you're covered for tractors and other equipment that you lease or own for use in farming. Also consider farm motor insurance, which is a comprehensive cover for your own vehicle, as well as liability for damage to others vehicles and property. If you would like a review on your farm business or hobby farm insurance, please feel free to call me directly on 0455 777 685. Managing the Risk of Machinery in your Rural Workplace or Hobby Farm SSAA Insurance Ali Mulla, SSAAIB

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