Quad bike safety action on Victorian farms

Last year, 22 people tragically lost their lives in quad bike incidents in Australia. In the past three months, two Victorian farmers lost their lives on farms after being crushed when their quad bikes overturned.

In an effort to tackle the numbers of deaths and serious injuries caused by quad bikes, the Andrews Labor Government announced, at the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) conference today, a $6 million subsidy scheme to help Victorian farmers make their quad bikes safer.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the scheme provides rebates to farmers to either fit rollover protection devices on existing quad bikes or help them purchase an alternative safer vehicle.

“Too many Victorians have died or have been seriously injured using quad bikes and that’s why the Labor Government is taking action to protect our farmers,” said Andrews.

“This is about saving lives and we encourage every eligible farmer to make use of this rebate and stay safe.”

The rebate supports a recent decision by WorkSafe to include appropriately fitted rollover protection devices on quad bikes to its list of approved safety measures to help drive down workplace fatalities and injuries.

WorkSafe will also be shortly releasing a major public awareness campaign in regional Victoria on the risks associated with using quad bikes on farms.

Eligible farmers will be offered up to $600 each for up to two quad bikes to fit rollover protection (known as an operator protection device or OPD) or $1200 towards the cost of buying a more appropriate work vehicle.

It is estimated that more than 5000 farmers will receive the rebate over the two-year life of the scheme, which will be managed by WorkSafe Victoria and the VFF.