Priority industry snapshot: Agriculture June 2018 The agriculture industry is identified as a national priority to reduce fatalities and serious claims under the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022. The industry includes nine sub-industries: dairy cattle farming; deer farming; fruit and tree nut growing; mushroom and vegetable growing; nursery and floriculture production; poultry farming; sheep beef cattle and grain farming; other crop growing; and other livestock farming. This is an overview of the industry and its work health and safety (WHS) performance, highlighting key WHS issues and segments of the industry where performance may be lagging. The Evidence Industry profile The agriculture, forestry and fishing industry accounted for only 3 per cent of total employment in November 2017, with employment growing in line with overall employment growth, up by 8 per cent over the five years to November 2017. While this recent employment growth has been relatively robust, employment in the industry is projected to decline slightly over the next five years, falling by 1 per cent by November 2022. This decline is in line with the industry’s longer term history of employment declines that have largely been driven by advancements in technology. The industry has the oldest age demographic of all industries with 17 per cent of workers aged over 65 years and a further 22 per cent aged 55-64 years. While the industry has a slightly higher proportion of full-time workers (73 per cent compared to the all industry average of 69 per cent), it also has a relatively high proportion of casual employees (46 per cent compared to the all industry average of 25 per cent), likely reflecting the industry’s use of seasonal workers. Why is the agriculture industry a priority? The nature of the work in the agriculture industry it is a high risk industry and is reflected in the comparatively high rates of fatalities and serious workers’ compensation claims. On average, the industry ranked second in terms of fatality rate and accounted for the highest number of fatalities over the last five years. The industry was ranked third for the frequency rate of serious claims. WHS performance of the industry
Priority industry snapshot: Agriculture June 2018 The agriculture industry is identified as a national priority to reduce fatalities and serious claims under the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022. The industry includes nine sub-industries: dairy cattle farming; deer farming; fruit and tree nut growing; mushroom and vegetable growing; nursery and floriculture production; poultry farming; sheep beef cattle and grain farming; other crop growing; and other livestock farming. This is an overview of the industry and its work health and safety (WHS) performance, highlighting key WHS issues and segments of the industry where performance may be lagging. The Evidence Industry profile The agriculture, forestry and fishing industry accounted for only 3 per cent of total employment in November 2017, with employment growing in line with overall employment growth, up by 8 per cent over the five years to November 2017. While this recent employment growth has been relatively robust, employment in the industry is projected to decline slightly over the next five years, falling by 1 per cent by November 2022. This decline is in line with the industry’s longer term history of employment declines that have largely been driven by advancements in technology. The industry has the oldest age demographic of all industries with 17 per cent of workers aged over 65 years and a further 22 per cent aged 55-64 years. While the industry has a slightly higher proportion of full-time workers (73 per cent compared to the all industry average of 69 per cent), it also has a relatively high proportion of casual employees (46 per cent compared to the all industry average of 25 per cent), likely reflecting the industry’s use of seasonal workers. Why is the agriculture industry a priority? The nature of the work in the agriculture industry it is a high risk industry and is reflected in the comparatively high rates of fatalities and serious workers’ compensation claims. On average, the industry ranked second in terms of fatality rate and accounted for the highest number of fatalities over the last five years. The industry was ranked third for the frequency rate of serious claims. WHS performance of the industry
agriculture-priority-industry-snapshot-2018.docx