Steer away from tragedy with safer tractor operation

What began as a routine day on the family's 700-acre property in the Latrobe Valley nearly ended in tragedy when 21-year-old Aydan Garrett suffered life-threatening injuries after the tractor he was operating collided with the bucket of a front-end loader.

Six years on, Aydan remembers little of the incident that nearly killed him, but for his father Brendan, the memories remain vivid.

"In the distance I saw him hanging out the back of the tractor and the adrenaline started to kick in. That's when I sprinted towards him," Brendan said.

"When I got there the tractor was still running. I saw Aydan's head split open with blood everywhere. There was smashed glass, so I knew he'd got thrown around in the cabin."

Sustaining eight broken vertebrae, a traumatic brain injury, multiple skull and sternum fractures and a permanent deep depression in his skull, Aydan said the road to recovery was long.

"It took the paramedics about four hours just to get me out of the tractor," he said. "I was in hospital for five weeks after major spinal fusion surgery and it took me another three years to get back working full-time."

"Even now I still struggle with lifting and bending over, and managing pain and fatigue."

Tractors remain the leading factor of workplace harm on Victorian farms and have been involved in eight fatal incidents since the start of 2025.

Common hazards include starting tractors from the ground, connecting attachments, operating near people, and getting on or off a moving tractor — all of which have resulted in deaths and serious injury.

WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said while tractors were an essential part of daily farm work, they could become deadly in seconds.

"Through experience and familiarity with the work, farmers can become desensitised to safety hazards – normalising risks instead of treating them as preventable dangers," Mr Jenkin said.

"Every year, families and their communities are devastated by incidents that could have been prevented if the right safety measures and processes were in place."

Since 2021, there have been 39 work-related fatalities in the agriculture industry, including six this year, while 2,937 agriculture workers – an average of 10 every week – have been injured.

Aydan and Brendan are sharing their story for National Farm Safety Week (19-25 July) to show how simple safety measures can spare families from life-changing incidents.

"It was a big wake-up call. You realise things can go wrong pretty quickly," Aydan said.

"Since then, we've become a lot more conscious of all our equipment. We've got pre-start checklists for machinery, and we always make sure we're using the safety features on our vehicles and machinery like PTO covers, roll-over protection and seatbelts."

This year's theme, Set the Standard: Show 'em how it's done, asks farmers to lead by example and model safe behaviours that can be passed down through generations.

"I never want to see my son, or anyone else, go through something like that again," Brendan said.

"People find some safety requirements a burden or costly, but when you see your son unconscious with barely any signs of life, or when a massive ambulance bill comes your way, you realise working towards a safer farm is worth everything."

National Farm Safety Week is the perfect time to review practices, check machinery and equipment, and start a conversation about the importance of safety with workers, family and fellow farmers.

"A family farm can be passed down for generations, but only if the people who work on it are protected through a strong safety culture," Mr Jenkin said.

"One small safety step today could save a life tomorrow."

WorkSafe has been working closely with the agriculture industry to develop and publish fresh, practical information for Victorian farmers – including new resources on tractor stability and runover prevention, which are available now.