2026 National Farm Safety Week - Member Update

Australian dairy farm safety statistics

🐄 Quad bikes account for 35% of all farm injuries. According to the 2025 Farmsafe Australia Safer Farms Report, quad bike incidents remain the leading cause of on-farm injuries.

🚜 Side-by-side vehicles are now the leading cause of farm-related fatalities. As more farms replace quad bikes with side-by-sides, seatbelt use has become critical, with many fatalities occurring when occupants are not restrained.

🛵 Quad bikes cause around 15 deaths on Australian farms every year. Rollovers remain the most common cause, leading to crush injuries, head injuries and asphyxiation.

👷 Agriculture remains one of Australia's most dangerous industries. The industry records approximately 9.2 workplace fatalities per 100,000 workers, many times higher than the national average.

🚜 Farm vehicles are involved in almost 40% of all farm fatalities. Tractors, side-by-sides, quad bikes and utilities continue to be the biggest causes of fatal incidents on Australian farms.

Dairy-specific risks

Although national injury data isn't broken down by dairy enterprise, Dairy Australia identifies these as the most common high-risk activities on dairy farms:

• Working with cattle, particularly in yards, races and calving paddocks.
• Quad bikes and side-by-side vehicles.
• Tractors and telehandlers.
• Manual handling in the dairy and calf shed.
• Working around effluent ponds and confined spaces.
• Slips, trips and falls in wet dairy environments.
• Electricity and machinery maintenance.
• Fatigue during calving, harvest and busy seasonal periods.

One in every three farm injuries involves a quad bike. If you're using one every day to move stock, check water or shift fences, wearing a helmet and following safe operating procedures can make all the difference.