There’s been some good news and some bad news about health and safety for the forestry industry recently. The good news is that the ACC levy paid by employers for forestry workers will fall by 13% from March 2025 due to an overall improvement in health and safety in the industry. The bad news is that a recent analysis of forestry fatality data over the last decade shows that manual tree fallers, who still fell about 15% of the harvest, are 300 times more likely to die at work than the rest of the New Zealand workforce.
It is important to note that behind every data point contained in the analysis is a forestry worker who loved and was loved. The analysis, and the workstreams that flow from it, are dedicated to these workers, their whānau, friends and workmates. Kua hinga tōku hoa, he mamae kei tōku ngākau – My friend has fallen, there is pain in my heart.
The fatalities analysis suggests that the forestry industry should be taking note of the old saying, ‘you should fish where the fish are’. In other words, the industry should be focusing its health and safety improvement efforts on reducing the biggest area of harm – manual falling.
The Forest Industry Safety Council (FISC) and Safetree are already leading work to improve the standards, expectations, training and overall management of manual fallers. We are also aware of strategies being adopted by some forest owners/managers that include continuing to extend and apply mechanised harvesting methods, severely restricting the use of manual falling and not replanting land that would need to be manually fallen in future.
The 13% ACC levy cut for forestry largely reflects reductions in serious harm and fatalities due to mechanised harvesting. The levy covers the cost of injuries at work, and as total injury and fatality rates have fallen, ACC has been able to reduce the levy – even as levies in other industries increase. The reduction is estimated to save industry employers $1.5 million to $1.8 million a year, or about $200 per worker. Adjusted for inflation, the ACC levy for forestry has almost halved since 2018.
The proposed levy rates do drift back up in 2026 and 2027, but they remain below the current rate. That rate drift is due to an estimated smaller pool of workers paying the levy, who need to cover the costs of claims from previous years.
While the levy reduction is a positive story for forestry, rates of harm are still high compared with other primary industries, particularly for manual fallers.
Focus on manual falling
The analysis of forestry fatality data over the last decade by FISC/Safetree showing that manual tree fallers are estimated to be 300 times more likely to die at work than the rest of the New Zealand workforce, gives pause for thought. Between 2013 and 2023, 51 forestry workers died on the job – 23 of them were manual fallers. Six of the last seven fatalities were...
