Rural WHS Inspections Are Increasing: What Operators Need to Have in Place
Work health and safety expectations across rural Australia are continuing to develop.
Agriculture is one of six high-priority industries identified under the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023–2033, alongside construction, transport, manufacturing, health care and social assistance, and public administration and safety.
This priority status is contributing to ongoing regulator attention across the country.
For rural operators, documented systems, current records and evidence of how workplace risks are managed are increasingly important.
Important information: This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal, workplace relations or work health and safety advice.WHS obligations vary according to the jurisdiction, nature of the operation, workforce, plant, contractors and risks involved. Rural business operators should obtain advice from appropriately qualified WHS and legal professionals regarding the obligations applying to their workplace.
The national WHS position
The model Work Health and Safety laws apply with substantially similar obligations in:
New South Wales
Queensland
South Australia
The Australian Capital Territory
Tasmania
The Northern Territory
Commonwealth workplaces
Victoria operates under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.
Although the terminology differs, the underlying duties create similar practical expectations.
In the harmonised WHS jurisdictions, the primary duty sits with the person conducting a business or undertaking, commonly referred to as the PCBU.
In Victoria, similar duties generally apply to the employer.
Regardless of where a rural operation is based, operators may need to demonstrate how they identify risks, manage plant and machinery, supervise workers and contractors, and maintain their safety systems.
New South Wales: SafeWork NSW
Proactive agricultural inspections
SafeWork NSW reported conducting 25 proactive compliance inspections across regional New South Wales after becoming a standalone regulator on 1 July 2025.
Across those visits, inspectors examined 76 items of plant and issued 30 improvement notices to 11 businesses.
The inspection focus included:
Mobile plant
Fixed machinery
Vehicles
Tractors
Quad bikes
Side-by-side vehicles
Forklifts
Augers
These figures reinforce the importance of ensuring plant, machinery and supporting safety records are appropriately maintained.
Broader compliance activity
The July 2025 SafeWork NSW compliance activity referenced in the Bullagreen Brief involved approximately 400 high-risk workplace visits.
That activity resulted in:
435 improvement notices
61 prohibition notices
10 fines worth almost $50,000
The scale of this activity indicates that proactive inspection and enforcement should not be viewed as isolated events.
Queensland: Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
Moving plant compliance campaign
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland conducted a statewide compliance campaign from 1 October to 31 December 2025.
The campaign focused on the safe use of moving plant within the agriculture industry.
Inspectors assessed compliance involving:
Tractors
Quad bikes
Side-by-side vehicles
Worker interaction with moving plant
The Rural Plant Code of Practice remains an important reference for Queensland farm operators.
Continued agricultural focus
The regulator’s interest extends beyond moving plant.
The Bullagreen Brief identifies continuing activity involving:
Intensive livestock-handling assessments
Proactive engagement with fruit and vegetable growers
Public farm-safety education
This indicates continuing attention across different areas of agricultural work.
Victoria: WorkSafe Victoria
Workplace safety targets
WorkSafe Victoria has established five-year targets involving:
A 30% reduction in workplace fatalities
A 20% reduction in workplace injuries
The Bullagreen Brief notes that meeting these targets is expected to involve continued inspection, education and enforcement activity.
Cattle handling and quad bike risks
WorkSafe Victoria has maintained a focus on cattle-handling facilities and yard safety.
According to the Bullagreen Brief, inspections of cattle yards increased through 2025 and into 2026.
The Brief also refers to the death of a dairy farmer in a quad bike rollover at Cudgewa on 15 May 2026.
Quad bike use, operator protective devices and helmet compliance remain important areas of workplace risk.
South Australia: SafeWork SA
Agriculture compliance activity
SafeWork SA commenced a series of industry-specific compliance campaigns from July 2025, including a campaign focused on agriculture.
These campaigns include workplace visits and compliance audits intended to identify and address unsafe workplace practices.
Where non-compliance is identified, statutory notices may be issued.
Agriculture’s risk profile
The Bullagreen Brief states that agriculture accounts for approximately 4.5% of South Australia’s workforce but close to 19% of workplace deaths.
It also reports that South Australian primary producers are being fatally injured at nearly five times their share of the workforce.
Between 2003 and 2023, the Bullagreen Brief records:
56 agricultural deaths
A fatality rate of 8.3 per 100,000 workers
This risk profile provides important context for the regulator’s continued focus on the sector.
Australian Capital Territory: WorkSafe ACT
WorkSafe ACT operates under the harmonised model Work Health and Safety legislation.
Although the ACT agricultural sector is smaller than those in several other states, the relevant PCBU duties continue to apply.
For businesses with ACT-based operations, staff or contractors, workplace risks should be managed in accordance with the applicable WHS requirements.
Psychosocial hazards are also an increasing area of attention under the national WHS framework.
For businesses operating in the ACT, psychosocial risks should be considered alongside physical workplace hazards and other duties under the harmonised WHS laws.
Common risks across jurisdictions
Although campaigns and laws differ between jurisdictions, several areas of focus recur across the country.
Mobile plant and machinery
Tractors, quad bikes, side-by-side vehicles, forklifts and augers remain significant sources of workplace risk.
Operators may need to demonstrate that risks associated with plant and machinery are actively managed.
Depending on the operation, this may include:
Plant registers
Maintenance records
Pre-start checks
Safe operating procedures
Operator training
Traffic-management processes
Isolation procedures
Records of defects and repairs
The appropriate controls will depend on the plant, task, workplace and applicable legal requirements.
Cattle handling and stockyards
Cattle-handling facilities and stockyards remain an area of regulator attention.
Risks may arise from:
Yard design
Gates and latches
Crushes and races
Animal movement
Worker positioning
Escape routes
Maintenance
Training and supervision
The Bullagreen Brief notes that the focus on cattle-handling risks extends across jurisdictions with significant livestock industries.
Psychosocial hazards
Regulators are increasingly treating psychosocial risks as an important part of workplace health and safety.
The Bullagreen Brief identifies areas including:
Workplace culture
Fatigue
Sexual harassment
Work demands
Interpersonal conflict
For rural operators, psychosocial risks may be affected by long hours, seasonal pressure, isolation, workforce shortages and the overlap between family and business relationships.
Managing these risks may require more than a written policy.
Operators may need practical processes for:
Identifying concerns
Consulting workers
Responding to incidents
Managing workloads
Addressing inappropriate conduct
Supporting workers
The required approach will depend on the particular workplace and its risks.
Contractor management
Engaging a contractor does not automatically remove an operator’s workplace safety responsibilities.
Operators may continue to have PCBU obligations involving contractors working at their workplace, regardless of how the commercial engagement is structured.
Practical contractor-management documentation may include:
Contractor inductions
Evidence of licences and competencies
Insurance records
Risk assessments
Safe work method statements
Site rules
Plant and equipment checks
Records of consultation
Supervision arrangements
The required documentation and controls will depend on the type of work, workplace and jurisdiction.
Documentation expectations
The Bullagreen Brief identifies several forms of documentation that may form part of a functioning WHS system:
Worker and contractor inductions
Safe work method statements
Plant registers
Maintenance records
Risk assessments
Contractor-management records
Psychosocial risk processes
Documentation alone does not demonstrate that a workplace is safe or that all legal obligations have been met.
The documentation should reflect what happens within the operation and be supported by:
Training
Supervision
Consultation
Practical risk controls
Regular review
Ongoing maintenance
A generic template that does not match the business may provide limited value if it is not understood, implemented or kept current.
What this means for rural operators
Many rural operators have historically viewed WHS as a paperwork burden that does not reflect the practical realities of the farm or business.
However, agricultural fatality and serious-injury rates remain significant, and WHS obligations apply across family farms, corporate cropping operations, livestock businesses and contract harvesting businesses.
The size or history of the business does not automatically remove its legal duties.
In practical terms, operators may need to demonstrate:
How workers and contractors are inducted
How plant and machinery risks are controlled
How maintenance is recorded
How incidents and hazards are reported
How cattle-handling risks are managed
How psychosocial risks are identified
How safety responsibilities are communicated
How the system is reviewed and kept current
WHS should be proportionate to the business
A WHS system does not need to become a paperwork-heavy structure disconnected from the realities of the operation.
It should be proportionate to:
The size of the business
The number of workers
The use of contractors
The type of plant and machinery
The tasks being performed
The hazards present
The operating jurisdiction
The objective is to build safety processes into the way the business operates rather than importing a generic system from another workplace or industry.
Bullagreen’s three tiers of WHS support
Through Bullagreen People and Performance and its relationships with specialist WHS providers, Bullagreen uses a tiered approach intended to reflect the needs and complexity of the operation.
Tier 1: Fact-find and gap analysis
The first tier is designed for operators seeking a clearer understanding of how their current WHS position compares with the expectations relevant to their operation.
The fact-find and gap analysis may help identify:
What is already in place
Where documentation may be missing or outdated
Which operational risks require further attention
Which matters should be prioritised
Whether specialist WHS or legal advice may be required
This provides a starting point without automatically requiring the operator to implement a large or complex system.
Tier 2: A right-sized WHS system
The second tier involves practical documentation developed around the operation itself.
This may include:
Induction processes
Safe work method statements
Contractor-management procedures
Plant registers
Maintenance records
Psychosocial risk frameworks
The objective is to create a system that reflects the work being completed rather than relying only on a generic template pack.
The final scope should be determined by the business’s operations, risks and applicable legal requirements.
Tier 3: An ongoing WHS partnership
The third tier is intended for larger operators or businesses with greater employee numbers, operational complexity or contractor-management requirements.
This may involve an ongoing relationship with specialist WHS expertise.
The purpose is to help the business review, maintain and improve its systems over time rather than responding only after an incident or regulator visit.
No WHS system or advisory service can guarantee compliance, prevent workplace incidents or eliminate the possibility of regulatory action.
The focus is on helping the business build safer practices and improve its ability to demonstrate how workplace risks are being managed.
What operators can review now
Operators do not need to wait for an inspection before assessing their current position.
An initial review may consider:
Whether workers and contractors receive an appropriate induction
Whether plant and machinery records are current
Whether maintenance and repairs are documented
Whether quad bike and side-by-side controls are appropriate
Whether cattle-handling facilities have been assessed
Whether contractor documentation is complete
Whether psychosocial hazards have been considered
Whether policies match what happens in practice
Whether workers understand the relevant procedures
Whether records can be produced when required
The purpose is not to create paperwork for its own sake.
It is to ensure the safety system supports the operation and that the operator can demonstrate the steps being taken to manage risk.
Want to review your current WHS position?
James Brouff works with farming families, agribusiness operators and rural business owners across regional Australia, helping connect operators with relevant expertise across finance, business operations and people-related risk.
To discuss Bullagreen’s WHS fact-find and support options, reach out directly.
M: 0461 374 585 | E: james@bullagreen.au | W: bullagreen.au
Important WHS disclaimer
The work health and safety, employment and legal information contained in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice concerning a particular workplace or operation.
WHS obligations, terminology, codes of practice and regulator expectations vary between jurisdictions and may change over time.
Before implementing or changing a WHS system, responding to a regulator, or making a decision involving workers, contractors, plant or workplace risks, obtain advice from appropriately qualified WHS and legal professionals.
Bullagreen’s WHS support does not guarantee compliance, prevent workplace incidents or eliminate the possibility of regulatory or enforcement action.
Each operator remains responsible for understanding and meeting the obligations applying to its business and workplace.
Bullagreen Finance disclaimer
General information only. This content does not constitute financial or credit advice and has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. Lending is subject to eligibility, lender criteria and approval.
Bullagreen Finance | Credit Representative 571331 | Australian Credit Licence 389328
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