Agricultural activities (stockyards)

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Guideline review date: 24 September 2025

This guideline is provided to support schools in implementing the managing risks in school curriculum activities procedure.

The CARA planner (DOCX, 232KB) must be used for the specific school context in conjunction with this guideline considering additional risks, hazards and controls and including environmental, facility, equipment and student considerations.

For activities beyond the scope of this guideline, complete a CARA record using the CARA generic template (DOCX, 98KB).

Activity scope

This guideline demonstrates the minimum safety standard for students working in and around stockyards as an activity to support curriculum delivery. Stockyards are defined as temporary holding enclosures where livestock is handled and/or confined.

The Department of Education is committed to ensuring that curriculum activities are planned for and managed in accordance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of students, staff and others.

Depending on the scope of this activity, other risk assessments may be required when planning. Curriculum activities encompassing more than 1 CARA guideline (e.g. agricultural activities (light vehicles, towing and trailers) guideline and animal observation and handling guideline (when performing livestock husbandry guideline) must comply with the requirements of all CARA guidelines appropriate to the activity.

For activities conducted at a non-Department of Education venue, and/or when engaging external expertise, request written risk assessment advice and attach it to this CARA record.

For activities conducted off-site, schools must comply with the school excursions procedure.

Risk level

High risk
Working around or with unpredictable animals; use of stockyard crushes, races, gates and equipment; exposure to biohazards and veterinary chemicals and livestock vehicles reversing to load/unload.

Activity requirements

If any requirement cannot be met, the activity must not occur.

A registered teacher must be appointed to maintain overall responsibility for the activity.

Teachers, in collaboration with other adult supervisors of the planned activity, determine additional risks, hazards and control measures relevant to the activity and the specific school/group circumstances in order to lift the safety standard above the minimum identified in the CARA guideline.

Consult review comments from previous CARA records to improve safety standards based on the advice from the previous supervisors of the activity at the school.

Prior consultation and collaboration with local expertise (e.g. private landholder) is required for local advice, emergency support mechanisms and additional supervision requirements to ensure participant and public safety.

Permission/permits are required to be obtained from land managers (e.g. local councils or private landholders), if applicable.

Reference to the children and young workers code of practice 2006, the WorkSafe serious about farm safety guide and the hazardous manual tasks code of practice 2021 (PDF, 1.4MB) is required when planning this activity.

Schools must comply with animal welfare legislation. Consult the department's animals in education page. Comply with animals in Queensland State Schools procedure when handling live animals.

The guide to managing electrical equipment in departmental schools and workplaces and the standard operating procedures (SOP) for equipment and machinery resources must be followed.

Stock-handling aids must be used in accordance with the manufacturer's operating instructions and the relevant animal welfare and transport codes of practice.

Stockyards, handling facilities, loading ramps and vehicle access roads must follow WorkSafe advice for stockyard design.

The risks associated with working at heights, confined spaces (PDF, 1.5MB), biological, asbestos, slip/trip/fall and noise must be assessed and managed.

Local government building and planning requirements must be complied with.

Parents/carers must be informed about the necessity of relevant vaccinations, for example, Q fever.

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Students

Schools must consider age, maturity and skill level of students when planning curriculum activities.

Adjustments are required for students with disability to support access and participation in the curriculum. Consult with the parents/carers of students with disability or, when appropriate, the student to ensure risks related to their child's participation in the activity are identified and managed.

Schools must consult current student medical information and/or health plans in accordance with the managing students' health support needs at school procedure. Record information about any student condition (e.g. physical or medical, such as epilepsy) that may inhibit safe engagement in the activity and include specific support measures within emergency procedures.

For activities with students with a medical condition or disability that may impact on safety during the activity, consultation with parents is required prior to allocating supervision to determine the impact of students' medical condition or disability on safety during the activity.

For participants with known allergies, schools must comply with the supporting students with asthma and/or at risk of anaphylaxis at school procedure and the school's anaphylaxis risk management plan (DOCX, 159KB), including an adult supervisor of the activity with anaphylaxis training.

Emergency and first-aid

Induction and instruction

Consent

Supervision

Principals, in consultation with the qualified adults, make final supervision decisions for the activity that considers the local context.

Appropriate adult supervision must be provided to manage the activity safely (i.e. prevent an incident from occurring and manage an incident if one were to occur, including managing emergency situations). The principal must give active consideration to the minimum standards set in the CARA guideline for the activity, the CARA planner and the risk assessment when determining the appropriate level of supervision.

See number of adult supervisors below.

Before the activity, all adult supervisors:

must be familiar with the contents of the CARA record, including the emergency and supervision plans.

During the activity, all adult supervisors:

must provide active and direct supervision—be constantly vigilant, attentive and rescue ready
must comply with control measures from the CARA record and adapt as hazards arise.

The activity must be suspended if the conditions become unfavourable (e.g. poor visibility, extreme temperatures, thunderstorms).

Number of adult supervisors

Principals, in consultation with the qualified adults of the activity, determine the final number of supervisors to fulfil instructional, emergency and supervision roles for the local context that consider the nature of the activity, students' ages, abilities and specialised learning, access and/or health needs. In some instances, the final supervision ratio may be 1:1.

If the minimum safety standard cannot be met, modify the activity (or elements of it) and use the hierarchy of controls to implement alternative control measures to meet or exceed the minimum safety standard (e.g. reduce the number of students participating at any one time).

See frequently asked questions (FAQs) for further support.

Supervisor qualifications

Qualifications support the minimum safety standard for this activity. Principals make final decisions* in determining supervisor capability (competence, relevance and currency) and whether the activity leader meets an appropriate teaching standard.

*See FAQs for further support.

All adult supervisors must comply with the working with children authority—blue cards procedure.

Qualified adults for the activity

Recovery/emergency—CPR, first aid, rescue

An adult with current emergency qualifications is required to be quickly accessible to the activity area.

Supervisors must have CPR and first aid qualifications relevant to the activity. Emergency qualifications may include:

High risk activities

At least 1 adult supervisor is either:

a registered teacher with competence (knowledge and skills) in safe stockyard procedures and qualification (e.g. Certificate II in Agriculture or similar) or another method determined by the principal
an adult supervisor, working under the direct supervision of a registered teacher, with competence (knowledge and skills) in safe stockyard procedures and qualification (e.g. Certificate III in Agriculture or Certificate III in Rural Machinery Operations or similar) or another method determined by the principal.

See FAQs for further support.

Facilities and equipment

The qualified adult supervisor of the activity, in consultation with the principal, determines the requirements for facilities and equipment appropriate to the local context.

Consult chemicals in curriculum activities for support in assessing the risks of chemicals used with/by students in curriculum activities.

If a CARA record is required in OneSchool, a summary of chemicals, plant, equipment and/or materials used in the activity must be provided by entering directly onto the CARA record in OneSchool or by attaching a summary. Sample templates are provided in chemicals in curriculum activities and plant, equipment and materials in curriculum activities.

Participants must wear personal protective equipment as relevant, for example, appropriate enclosed footwear (steel cap boots when relevant), leather gloves (if using split posts or other splintering timber or barbed wire), hearing protection, safety glasses with Australian Standards specification, breathing protection (e.g. mask) to protect against airborne particles.

Equipment must be sized to match the ability and strength of students.

Agricultural machinery must conform to Australian Standards, be fit for purpose, in good working order, properly maintained and used in accordance with manufacturers' instructions and relevant codes of practice, and safe operating procedures (SOP).

A process for checking for damage for all equipment used in the activity must be established and employed.

A maintenance schedule (e.g. checking for damage, repairing, sharpening) must be established and enacted for all plant and equipment used in the activity (e.g. hand/power tools, machinery). Consult Equipment Maintenance Records (EMR) and Plant and Equipment Risk Assessments (PERA) documents.

A retirement schedule must be developed to replace plant and equipment by manufacturers' nominated expiry date or when significant wear causes a hazard.

Common hazards and control

Further to those listed, include any additional hazards and control measures considering the local context of the activity.

Environmental hazards	Control measures
Animals	Ensure appropriate animal husbandry practices for livestock are followed
Animal bites/diseases Stings, poisoning, infection	Ensure the location is clear of obstacles and wildlife (e.g. snakes) that may pose hazards. Control allergen and disease risks associated with working with animals and with dust, dry matter and airborne organisms in stockyards, for example, Q fever. Follow appropriate hand washing procedures after working in and around animal environments
Environmental conditions Weather, surfaces, surrounds	Assess weather conditions prior to undertaking the activity, inspecting the intended location in order to identify variable risks, hazards and potential dangers. Prevent hazards by ensuring appropriate control measures are in place for unfavourable weather conditions (e.g. dampen dust during high wind, control slipping hazards after rain). Follow the school's sun safety policy, including appropriate clothing (e.g. long sleeved shirts), sun protection (e.g. sunscreen) and shade facilities when outside. Follow the managing excessive heat in schools guidelines when participating in very hot or extreme heat conditions. Drink breaks to occur regularly. Make water available for individual participants between drink breaks
Facilities and equipment hazards	Control measures
Activity location	Location must be suitable for the activity being undertaken. Undertake a reconnaissance of new or infrequently used locations to ascertain suitability. Ensure surfaces around stockyards (including races, processing and dipping areas) are even and clear of obstacles that may pose hazards
Electricity Burns, electrocution	If power is required, ensure electrical or extension leads do not pose a tripping hazard
Faulty or dangerous equipment	Equipment situated where it does not pose potential hazards
Hazardous substances Corrosive, flammable, carcinogenic, volatile chemicals	Ensure all chemicals required for the decontamination processes are arranged in advance and are readily available
Manual handling Lifting equipment	Use correct manual handling processes when lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying. Ensure appropriate lifting equipment is used to lift heavy objects or materials
Heights/falling objects Falling from height	Assess and manage risks associated with working at heights. Exclusion zones clearly marked to prevent falling objects striking participants when working at heights
Vehicles	Ensure and monitor safe access to and from the stockyards considering flow of vehicles, powerlines, structures and domestic premises
Student considerations	Control measures
Injury	Students aware of the location of emergency and first-aid equipment
Physical exertion Exhaustion and fatigue	Continually monitor participants for signs of fatigue and exhaustion. Establish rest stops, considering the age and fitness level of students. Adopt system of signals to clearly communicate the need for assistance if in difficulty
Q Fever	Be alert to zoonosis—diseases that can pass from animals to humans (e.g. Q fever)
Slips, trips, falls	Assess and manage potential fall, trip and crushing hazards (e.g. surfaces with poor footing, obstacles, high loads). Consult preventing slips, trips and falls fact sheet
Student issues Student numbers, special needs, high risk behaviours, medical conditions, separation from the group	Establish and maintain a safety zone around the area where agricultural machinery is in use. Students must be supervised in a safe location when not actively receiving instruction
Visibility	Have students wear easily identifiable clothing. Ensure staff can easily recognise those students with health support needs and are familiar with their needs

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