Hundreds of kiwis injured in gardens everyday

Over 200 Kiwis are injured in the garden every day.

This adds up to an average of 76,000 ACC claims each year.

Many of these injuries are caused by falls from trees and ladders while pruning, moving and starting lawnmowers with poor technique, and digging and moving soil.

Luckily, gardening injuries are preventable, says ACC injury prevention leader James Whitaker.

“With the arrival of spring and daylight savings, I understand the eagerness to get out in the garden and whip it back into shape for summer,” says Whitaker.

“But, before you go full weekend warrior ‘have a hmmm’ and ask yourself how you can make the job lighter, shorter and easier on your body.”

It costs ACC around $120 million each year to support people to recover from gardening related injuries.

But, the cost of injury extends beyond the Scheme, says Whitaker.

"A moment of inattention can have long-lasting impacts on you and the people around you.”

Any injury can potentially result in time away from family and friends, loss of income, reduced participation in work, sport and community activities, increased reliance on family and caregivers, long rehabilitation and recovery periods, and mental and emotional stress for family, says Whitaker.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to help prevent an injury from occurring in the first place. 

How to 'Have a hmmm'

Break big garden jobs into smaller chunks and take short breaks before you get tired, says Whitaker.

“Avoid back strain by moving things smartly. For example, use a wheelbarrow and do multiple smaller loads.

“If you’re pruning – avoid climbing up the tree and use the right tool for the job, such as pole saws. A big proportion of gardening injuries are caused by falls – if you’re not up in the tree, you’re obviously not going to fall!”

Digging can be particularly hard on your neck, back, shoulders and arms, says Whitaker.

“Injury data shows that lots of digging injuries are caused by jarring motions and hard soil. To manage this, soak the ground a little first, then loosen and break it up with a garden fork. When you do start digging, put your foot on the top of the spade and get your body weight into it instead of just relying on the strength of your arms when pushing the spade in.”

These injuries can have a significant impact on people’s day-to-day lives, affecting independence and the ability to carry out everyday activities.

Understanding where and how these injuries occur around the garden can help New Zealanders ‘have a hmmm’, says Whitaker.

“By becoming more aware of your surroundings and identifying potential hazards you can reduce your risk of injury.”

ACC gardening tips to prevent injury:

• Avoid overstretching on ladders by only pruning what’s directly in front of you and use stable ladder set-ups
• Avoid climbing trees to prune them – use a pole saw instead (if you don’t have one you can hire them or borrow them from a mate or neighbour)
• Get help for high-risk tree/hedge trimming
• Loosen and break up soil before you dig it. It’s a good idea to wet the soil before you dig it, then loosen and turn the dirt with a garden fork
• Avoid twisting when you’re moving and offloading soil – a great way to do this is to align your shoulders and hips at all times
• Avoid strain when mowing, including when moving or starting the mower
  Keep hoses and equipment out of walkways

You can find further injury prevention programmes and advice to help you stay injury-free on our website. Or check out our range of prevention tips tailored to your lifestyle and learn more about how to ‘Have a hmmm.’

ACC gardening data:

• ACC supports people to recover from an average of 76,000 gardening related injuries each year.
• There is an average of 208 gardening injuries per day.
• In 2025, ACC received 79,169 claims for injuries related to gardening.  
• It costs ACC around $120 million each year to support people to recover from gardening related injuries.
• Every year, an average of 22,429 (or 30%) of gardening injuries involve a fall.
• Around 64,000 (85%) are soft tissue injuries (sprains and strains etc).
• Around 35,000 (46%) are injuries to backs, necks and shoulders.
• The regions with the highest number of claims last year were Auckland (25,423) ($37.4M), Canterbury (9,621) ($15.6M), Waikato (8,275) ($13.7M), Bay of Plenty (6,130) ($8.7M), Wellington (5,469) ($7.8M), Northland (4,191) ($6.8M), Otago (4,087) ($6.8M).
• Gardening claims peak over the summer period. Last year claims rose from 5,895 in September, to 7,739 in October to 9,160 in November. In December there were 7,562 claims, in January there were 8,307 claims, in February there were 7,285 claims, and in March 7,109 claims.
• The over 50s accounted for the majority of these claims 65-69 Years (9,374), 60-64 Years (8,960), 70-74 Years (8,830), 75-79 Years (8,197), 55-59 Years (7,722), and 50-54 Years (6,867).