Farm injury is a major problem in Australia. Effective solutions exist but their adoption by farmers has been slow and piecemeal. Thirty key informants, active in farm safety education and training, were interviewed to identify the constraints which impede the adoption of farm safety measures and the initiatives that have the potential to overcome current barriers. According to key informants, two potent clusters of factors constraining the adoption of safety measures on Australian farms were identified. First, a prevailing complacency about farm safety among farmers. This appears to be based on a low perception of personal risk or a machismo attitude toward risk-taking, interlinked with some resistance to changing traditional work practices and to outside influences their threaten farmers' independence. Second, the uncertain economic conditions in agriculture are impacting on farmers' ability to maintain and replace farm machinery and equipment, employ labour and outlay the direct costs of safety innovations and protective equipment. Some new strategies and approaches are suggested.