BIG questions about the health, wellbeing and safety of farmers, farming families and the agricultural workforce will be explored in Canberra next month.

The National Centre for Farmer Health will host a symposium in the national capital to highlight how governments and policy makers, industry bodies, regulators, workplaces and researchers can all play their part to improve our agricultural sector.

National Centre for Farmer Health director, Associate Professor Alison Kennedy said the symposium would emphasise the importance of every stakeholder collaborating to achieve positive outcomes for Australia’s farming communities.

“Our goal is to bring together leaders to share knowledge and generate action that will positively transform health, wellbeing, and safety practices in agriculture-dependent communities,” she said.

“Acknowledged leaders and specialists from across a variety of agricultural pursuits will be posing the questions and seeking the answers to many of the issues which confront farmers and their communities across Australia.”

On Wednesday, August 14, members of the public can attend the symposium, which will focus on advancing health, wellbeing and safety in agriculture.

Across a day featuring keynote speakers, panel discussions and workshops, a group of national and international experts will discuss how the sector can work together for transformative action.

The symposium will be officially opened by Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner, University of Technology Sydney Professor of Indigenous Health and Australia’s first Indigenous community pharmacist, Professor Faye McMillan.

One of the featured guest speakers will be Dr David Meredith, from the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), who will join via video link from Ireland to demonstrate his extensive expertise in understanding the complex social and economic factors that influence farmer behaviour and rural population dynamics.

As well as the guest speakers there will be two panel sessions, followed by an opportunity to network over lunch, and then concurrent workshops will round out the day.

In the first panel session, the discussion will be on the importance of integrating personal experience with evidence and appropriate local supports to improve mental health promotion and prevention initiatives.

Bringing their insights to this session will be clinical psychologist, Associate Professor Kate Gunn, as well as dairy farmer and mental health counsellor, Sarah Crosthwaite and former St Kilda AFL football star and mental health advocate, Justin Koschitzke.

The second panel session will explore the changing nature of the agricultural workforce and discuss current and future strategies to effectively address the health, wellbeing, and safety needs of a diverse agricultural population.

The panel members will include Dairy Australia’s national people lead and a specialist risk management and safety executive, Mick Fuller, Ability Agriculture Foundation founder Josie Clarke and FarmSafe Australia chairperson, Felicity Richards.

The two interactive workshops in the afternoon will allow a deep dive into two topics: collaborating for Safer Farmers- national interests and place-based approaches; and conceptualising frameworks for scaling up evidence-based health, wellbeing and safety programs nationally.

At Parliament House the day before the symposium Federal MPs from all parties will be given an opportunity to hear first-hand about the farmer health, wellbeing and safety topics from the National Centre for Farmer Health team through a series of five lightning presentations.

These sessions will be introduced by the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Rural and Regional Health; the Honourable Emma McBride MP; Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Senator Hollie Hughes; and President of the National Farmers Federation, David Jochinke.

The 90-minute session will also allow MPs to experience the Centre’s famous Farmer Health Checks - a service that is highly valued by Australian farmers and agricultural workers.

The symposium is supported by Deakin University’s Rural Health University Network, with sponsorship support from Dairy Australia and the Gentlemen of Geelong.

Registration for the symposium is available by visiting the NCFH website at bit.ly/3WxNmvR