Safeguarding youth from agricultural injury and illness: The Australian experience

[Extract] As of 31 March 2022, there were 25,890,773 estimated resident population in Australia across the eight states and territories (1). In the 2020–21 Financial year, there was 387 million hectares of agricultural land (50% of Australia's land mass), of which the majority (86%) was used for grazing (2). There were 228,372 people in the Australian agricultural workforce in 2016, 69% were males, the median age was 56 years, and a third (37%) were owner operators (3). In Australia, fatalities on Australian farms have remained steady over the last decade, with 1,584 between 2001–2020 (4). Children represent approximately 15% of these deaths (5, 6). Issues that have been found to be of importance to farmers about the safety of their children on farms in Australia include: general danger avoidance and safety, machinery, moving vehicles, bike safety, animal handling, personal protective equipment (PPE), supervision, speed, water safety and chemicals (5).

Frontiers in Public Health

Frontiers in Public Health

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2296-2565

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