Health and safety issues for Victorian farmworkers

This paper reports a study of Victorian agricultural workers' awareness of occupational health and safety (OH&S) services and their perceived need for a locally-based service. An exploratory approach was used to investigate a convenience sample of 25 agricultural workers comprising predominantly self-employed landowners and two employees, one of whom also owned their own property. Questionnaire and questionnaire-interview formats were used. The results showed that the respondents were relatively unaware of the OH&S services available; their use of services was minimal and not one of the sample sought OH&S advice after an injury or health problem occurred. Employers indicated that they were prepared to make improvements to their properties to reduce the risk of injury, and that they would utilize a locally or regionally-based OH&S service.