THE death of a seven-year-old girl on an ATV has revived calls for children to be banned from riding them.

The fatality, which happened on Sunday night, occurred when the ATV crashed, killing the girl who was a passenger.

Her death brings ATV safety into the spotlight in a year when there have been major developments in the debate over the estimated 220,000 quad bikes being ridden in Australia.

Arguably the most significant of these has been the entry of Federal Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten, and his moves to make crush protection mandatory for ATVs ridden by federal government employees.

And late last year, Mr Shorten called for a ban on children aged under 16 riding ATVs in the workplace, including on farms.

Another major development was the formation of an alternative ATV manufacturers group, which supported the sale of crush protection in their stores.

This was in direct opposition to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, the group representing the major ATV manufacturers, which has remained opposed to safety measures involving crush protection.

Of the 17 people that died last year, five were children aged under 15 and four of these happened on farms - two in NSW and two in Queensland.

In 2011, 24 people died from ATV accidents, and two of the three children killed nationally were on Victorian farms.

In the past 12 years, 158 people have lost their lives in ATV accidents at an average of 14 a year.

Meanwhile, investigations are continuing into the latest death, which occurred on Thistle Island, off the coast of Port Lincoln in South Australia.

A South Australian police spokesman could not confirm if the girl was wearing a helmet.

The spokesman said the seven-year-old suffered serious head injuries and died at the scene.

He said the incident was in the hands of major crash investigators since it had occurred on a public road and a report was being prepared for the coroner.

Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety director Dr Tony Lower said the death of another child in an ATV accident was very sad.

"It sadly illustrates that kids and quads are potentially a fatal mix and re-emphasises that children should not be allowed to ride quad bikes," he said.