Leading by Example: Farmers Urged to Make Safety a Family Tradition

National Farm Safety Week highlights the powerful influence adults have on the next generation

Australian farming families are being encouraged to recognise that some of the most important lessons children learn about farm safety come not from instruction, but from observation.

As part of National Farm Safety Week, Tasmanian sheep farmer Josie Chester is urging parents, grandparents and farm workers to lead by example, reminding Australians that the habits they demonstrate today will help shape the farmers of tomorrow.

The message forms part of Farmsafe Australia’s “Set the Standard: Show ’em how it’s done” campaign, which focuses on building stronger safety cultures through everyday actions rather than relying solely on rules and regulations.

“Children copy what they see,” Ms Chester said.

“They’re always watching us, whether we realise it or not. The behaviours we normalise today become the behaviours tomorrow’s farmers will see as ordinary.”

Having both grown up on a farm and now raising her own family on a working Merino sheep property in Tasmania, Ms Chester believes safety begins long before young people receive formal training.

“People copy behaviour, not just instructions,” she said.

“If you want a young person to wear a helmet, you have to wear one yourself. If you want them to slow down, buckle up or think before taking a shortcut, they need to see you doing it every single day.”

Australian agriculture continues to record one of the highest workplace fatality rates in the country, with Farmsafe Australia highlighting the importance of creating positive safety cultures through visible leadership.

Rather than introducing more rules, the campaign encourages farmers to demonstrate safe behaviours every day, including wearing helmets, fastening seatbelts, operating machinery responsibly and taking time to explain why safety matters.

For Ms Chester, the family farm is both a workplace and a home, making those lessons even more important.

“Our farm is our workplace, but it’s also our home,” she said.

“When children grow up around machinery, livestock and vehicles, they’re learning from every decision we make. If we want them to value safety, we have to show them what that looks like.”

She said consistency was one of the most effective ways to develop lifelong safe work habits.

“Visible safety behaviours set the standard,” she said.

“Every action teaches something. It helps to take the time to show young people how it’s done, explain why we do things a certain way and encourage questions. That’s how confidence and good habits are built.”

Beyond her own property, Ms Chester volunteers at her local school, helping deliver farm and road safety programs that introduce students aged 16 and over to the safe operation of quad bikes and side-by-side vehicles.

“It’s fantastic seeing young people given the opportunity to learn these skills early,” she said.

“It gives them confidence, prepares them for future employment and helps make safety part of the way they think from the very beginning.”

Farmsafe Australia Chair Felicity Richards said role modelling remained one of the industry’s most powerful but often underutilised safety tools.

“Strong safety cultures aren’t created through posters or policies alone. They’re built through everyday actions that are repeated consistently over time,” Ms Richards said.

“As an industry, we have an incredible opportunity to shape the next generation of Australian farmers simply by demonstrating the behaviours we want them to carry forward.”

National Farm Safety Week runs from 19 to 25 July 2026, encouraging farming families across Australia to lead by example and help create safer farms for future generations.