Starting Out
Starting out is the first step in building a dairy farm safety system: putting the basics in place — induction, incident reporting and core policies — before adding the rest. Every farm is different, so even where work practices and risks are similar, each farm needs its own risk controls to get the best safety outcomes.
What to put in place first
Induction. No new employee is fully effective from day one — effectiveness grows with understanding of the farm. Every employee should receive appropriate induction, and an induction checklist supports covering the important things. See the Induction page for detail.
Incident reporting. All injuries, accidents and incidents must be recorded. Setting up a simple reporting system that everyone is encouraged to use — an incident register, an investigation report, and a hazard or near-miss report — is a core part of the system.
Core policies. Adopt the workplace policies every farm should have. See the Farm workplace policies page.
Common questions
How does a dairy farm start building a safety system?
By putting the foundations in place first: inducting people properly, setting up a system to record injuries, incidents and near misses, and adopting core workplace policies. Each farm then tailors its own risk controls.
What records should a farm keep from the start?
All injuries, accidents and incidents that occur must be recorded. A simple reporting system — an incident register, an investigation report, and a hazard or near-miss report — gives everyone a way to report and supports a safer workplace.
Where can a farm get support to set up its safety system
Through the local Dairy Australia Regional Team, which runs Farmer health and safety manual workshops and can support a farm to use the templates and tools.