The man, in his late 20s, died on Tuesday while working with wood-chipping machinery at a site on Howlong-Balldale Road, 30km from Albury, about 12.10pm on Tuesday.

The Courier has chosen not to name the deceased man.

The Courier understands he has a partner and young children.

Murray District police established a crime scene at the site and have commenced inquiries, and will prepare a report for the coroner, a NSW police department spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The workplace safety regulator in NSW is also inquiring into the incident.

"SafeWork NSW is investigating a fatality of a 28-year-old plant operator who died at a wood-chipping facility at Howlong," a spokesperson said.

"SafeWork's investigation is ongoing and no further comment is available at this time."

The man's death is one of several workplace fatalities to affect Ballarat and district this year, with a 59-year-old road worker struck and killed by a passing vehicle at Trawalla in October, and a 61-year-old man dying in an incident in a Delacombe industrial yard in January.

As of December 3, there had been 150 Australian workers killed at their jobs in 2020.

Per capita, agriculture, forestry and fishing remain the most dangerous industries to be employed in, with an average of 11.2 deaths per 100,000 workers each year.

There was a strong reaction to the man's death on social media, with fellow car enthusiasts especially paying respect to a "great bloke" who was "up for nothing but cracking jokes".

Others sent condolences to his family and friends, noting a workplace death this close to Christmas was doubly harrowing, and there is little or no excuse for workers being killed onsite if proper safety maintenance regimes are being upheld.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.