The ACC funding of $4.4m a year for five years will come in grants and subsidies which firms can apply for in February.
“The subsidies are designed to support small and medium-sized businesses to invest in training, equipment or advisory services that will have a direct impact on the health and safety of workplaces,” ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said.
“This is particularly important for smaller businesses which haven’t previously been able to access this type of support because the barriers have been too high.”
For example, the subsidy can be claimed by a small business to recover the cost of a health and safety training course for staff.
Statistics New Zealand classes 97% of NZ businesses as small or medium and 13% of them are rural.
ACC data shows there were 80,000 work-related claims from them and 84,000 claims from large businesses last year.
As well as providing subsidies the fund will provide grants to support innovation and research at an industry level.
Federated Farmers president Katie Milne said the extra investment in workplace injury prevention will pay dividends not only in reducing pain and suffering but also in economic terms.
“Most farms are in this small to medium business category and the minister is right when he says barriers to accessing such things as workplace capability development, professional health and safety consulting advice and capital investment in significant safety equipment are often too high, thus limiting uptake.
“Long-term injury rehabilitation and loss of productivity from injury carry a high price tag alongside the pain, stress and grief for the individuals and their families,” Milne said.
Five sectors have 52% of all severe workplace injuries – agriculture, forestry, construction, manufacturing and healthcare and social assistance.
In the agriculture industry alone 15 people died at work last year – 12 of them as a result of quad bike or vehicle accidents, WorkSafe figures show.
Historically, agriculture hasn’t had a structure and formal focus on health and safety. The plan of action has been in the farmer’s head, Milne said.
“But progress is accelerating now and farmers recognise the injury and fatality statistics in their line of work are far too high.”
The combination of health and safety challenges facing farm businesses is different to many other workplaces – weather, operating machinery over difficult terrain, working in isolated places, sometimes unpredictable animal behaviour.
“More help, training programmes and safer equipment specific to our sector will protect farming families and their staff.
“There’s a lot of work still to do to develop sector-specific safety initiatives and this new stream of grants and assistance will help.”
A good example of an industry-specific workplace safety programme is Tahi Ngatahi, an on-line training programme launched last year to improve safety and reduce injuries to shearers and others in the wool industry.
ACC helped the industry start it. The new money could help other, similar initiatives, Milne said.
Agricultural Leaders Health and Safety Action Group general manager Tony Watson said more farmers are stepping up health and safety.
“There is a growing recognition among farmers that good health and safety management is good business practice.
“Many farmers now accept this isn’t just about compliance or form-filling but about making health and safety a priority, identifying risks on their farms and communicating this to people who need to know.”
And it appears to be working.
Fewer farmers died last year than in any year since 2009 and in 2017 deaths were almost half of those of the previous four years.
“The number of people injured on farms and needing more than a week off work is still way too high but also declining,” he said.
Almost 550 farmers suffered injuries serious enough to require at least a week off work last summer while there were three fatalities on farms.
Vehicles and machinery loomed large among the causes.
“However, when I speak to farmers, some of the health and safety risks on their farms aren’t always that obvious to them.
“A lot of farmers have extensive on-farm experience but few have had proper health and safety training. Any effort to further this is bound to make a positive impact,” Watson said.
ACC will have two funding rounds a year for the grants, in February and September, and three for subsidies, in February, June and September.
