Working around overhead powerlines

There are many people who work near overhead powerlines including:

Getting close to or contacting powerlines can lead to serious injury, and in some cases be fatal.

Look up and live

Stay out of harms way with these helpful tips:

Regularly remind everyone who lives or works on your farm of the location of powerlines.
Save the location of power equipment into your GPS equipment.
If you're crop dusting, make sure you (or your contractor) identify where the powerlines are located before getting started.
Check for powerlines whenever you use or move farm machinery, and when moving long or tall loads. See our tips to remain safe should your machine or vehicle hit a powerline.
Keep sheds, haystacks and silos away from powerlines.
Be careful when using irrigation or water jets near powerlines.
Do not excavate without checking for underground infrastructure.

More helpful tips about how to avoid overhead powerlines (as well as underground utilities) can be found in SafeWork SA's six-part animated series .

Visit the Office of the Technical Regulator's website for more information about working safely near powerlines.

Download and print our A5 Look Up & Live card 400KB PDF to keep in your tractor, truck or farm vehicle.

Find out more around Stobie pole safety and making them more visible through the use of reflectors.