CSBP pumps $150,000 into SafeFarms WA to develop one-stop-shop work health and safety app for farmers

Australia’s biggest fertiliser distributor has pumped $150,000 into Safe Farms WA to bolster farm and work place safety in the State’s agriculture sector, just weeks after a shocking report revealed more workers die in the industry than any others. Under the partnership, inked late last month, CSBP will bankroll Safe Farms WA to move its work health and safety content to a digital platform — with the hope of making it more accessible, engaging and interactive. The funding accounts for $50,000 per year for three years. Safe Farms WA chair Jeanette De Landgrafft, said the digital solution would be rolled out within the next three to four months and provide easy access to policies and tools, including induction and risk management templates. The organisation will develop an app, filled with content aligned with WA’s Work Health and Safety Act 2020, including WA-specific industrial manslaughter provisions after penalties were ramped up last year. Under the revised Act — the first update to WA’s workplace safety laws in 38 years — employers could face 20 years behind bars and $10 million in fines if found responsible for a workplace death. CSBP Fertilisers general manager Mark Scatena said every farmer in WA understood the risks of working on farms. “That’s why our partnership with Safe Farms WA is so important,” he said. “Not only will it help to prevent injuries and deaths on farms, it will help growers to manage critical risks to their enterprises better. Farm safety is a significant concern in WA, with the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors experiencing more work-related fatalities between 2011-12 and 2020-11 than any other industry with 42 deaths. The fatality frequency rate was more than seven times higher than the overall rate across all industries and more than three-quarters of work-related fatalities in the three industries occurred in the agriculture sector. A landmark inquiry into farm safety, released in April, suggested there was a culture of lax safety on farms and suggested imposing a levy on the industry to pay for safety campaigns, prompting immediate pushback from the industry. WorkSafe commissioner Darren Kavanagh announced the inquiry in June following the State’s 12th work-related death in the preceding year — a significantly higher rate than usual. It revealed fatalities and serious injuries were occurring more frequently in the industry than any other. Mr Scatena said the partnership between the two organisations made sense. “There is a strong alignment between CSBP Fertilisers’ longstanding and positive safety culture and Safe Farms WA’s vision of supporting farmers in making their workplace a safe environment leading to improved productivity and well-being,” he said. Ms De Landgrafft, of Newdegate, said the partnership recognised the the significant work undertaken by the organisation since its inception in 1994. “This app will be a game changer for growers and the wider agriculture industry in WA,” she said. “The opportunity for WHS to be at your fingertips in an app that is relatively easy to use will significantly impact every single business.” Safe Farms WA is an independent not-for-profit organisation, providing tools and support to implement occupational work, health and safety systems for the agriculture industry across WA.