Manual Handling Training for Aged Care Workers in Western Australia
Online manual handling training for aged care, personal care and home care workers across Perth, Bunbury, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie and regional WA. The duties it explains come from the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA), administered by WorkSafe WA. The course and the assessment are free; you pay A$49 only if you pass and want the certificate.
Last reviewed September 2026 · Applies to the Manual Handling Training for Aged Care Workers course.
Another industry? Manual handling training in Western Australia covers every industry.
Work health and safety in Western Australia
Western Australia was the last jurisdiction to move across. It passed its version of the model laws in November 2020, and they became operational on 31 March 2022, replacing the previous Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984. Longer-serving WA workers may still have been trained under the older framework. The detail now sits in the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022.
Because the change is recent, some procedures, induction packs and training records in WA workplaces may still refer to the old Act; if yours do, it is worth raising with your employer. Workers in remote WA services also face long distances to support, which raises the stakes on equipment checks and on not improvising a transfer.
Aged care in Western Australia
WorkSafe WA's description of health care and social assistance fits aged care closely. It notes that the work happens in facilities such as aged care homes and hospitals and in people's own homes, and that manual task injuries in these settings are predominantly due to people handling. In residential care it lists the sources of risk as area and layout, equipment limitations such as weight ratings and unsuitable wheels, the capacity of the person being cared for, the loads handled, the environment around beds and toilets, and the way work is organised, including staffing and timing.
Home care in WA stretches from Perth's suburbs and the south-west to the Wheatbelt, the Goldfields, the Pilbara and the Kimberley. WorkSafe WA notes that the workplace can be a house, a unit or a caravan, that the house may not be designed for wheelchairs or for people who need assistance, and that working alone and long hours are part of how the risk arises. In regional and remote areas, a replacement sling, a hoist repair or a second worker can be a long way off, so checking equipment before you leave and knowing when not to proceed carry extra weight.
Longer-serving WA carers were trained before 31 March 2022, when the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 still applied. The principles have not changed much, but the Act, the regulations and the codes have, and the main duty holder is now described as a person conducting a business or undertaking. Module 2, Australian Work Health and Safety Principles, covers the general duties under the current framework, and Module 7, Equipment and Mechanical Aids, covers the pre-use checks that matter most when help is far away.
What WorkSafe WA publishes on hazardous manual tasks
WorkSafe WA's core documents are the Hazardous manual tasks: Code of practice, published in July 2022, and the Code of practice: How to manage work health and safety risks. For care work it has a dedicated page, Manual tasks in healthcare and social assistance, and a Manual task guide for carers, which covers how musculoskeletal disorders develop, the risk management approach and the manual tasks known to be of high risk to home carers, with examples of ways to reduce the risk. It points to the code for further guidance on people handling, including client assessment through care plans and mobility assessments, equipment, facility design, work organisation and bariatric care.
WorkSafe WA also publishes a sample manual tasks training package that employers can adapt, a risk management checklist for manual tasks and the Western Australian framework and strategy for the prevention and management of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Its healthcare page lists interstate home care guidance as further reading, including WorkSafe Victoria's Transferring people safely and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland's Guide to working safely in people's homes.
What it means on shift in Western Australia
- The Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) has applied since 31 March 2022; training or procedures that cite the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 predate it.
- WorkSafe WA says manual tasks training should be given by a competent person and cover the specific risks and controls, safe use of mechanical aids and equipment, and how to report a problem or maintenance issue.
- In home care, WorkSafe WA lists working alone, long hours and lack of training among the sources of manual task risk.
- Equipment limits such as weight ratings and wheels that do not suit the floor are named risk sources, so check the rating on a hoist or commode before you use it.
Who is responsible for what
Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA), the business you work for, known as a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), must eliminate the risks of hazardous manual tasks so far as is reasonably practicable and minimise any risk it cannot eliminate. As a worker, you must take reasonable care for your own health and safety and that of others, follow reasonable instructions and cooperate with reasonable policies and procedures.
In practice the answer to a heavy or awkward transfer is rarely "lift more carefully". It is a change to the task, the environment, the equipment or the staffing. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, the national aged care regulator, oversees providers against the Aged Care Quality Standards, but WHS law is WorkSafe WA's job.
How the course fits with your employer's training
Eight self-paced online modules take about 45–60 minutes. The assessment has 20 multiple-choice questions, a 75% pass mark and unlimited attempts, and a retry only re-asks the questions you answered wrongly. The A$49 Certificate of Completion carries a unique number and a QR code that anyone can check at /verify.
It does not replace your employer's practical, equipment-specific training on the hoists, slings and care plans you will actually use. This is non-accredited workplace training. It is not Nationally Recognised Training and does not issue a Statement of Attainment.
Common questions
Sources
- WorkSafe WA
- Safe Work Australia — Model Code of Practice: Hazardous manual tasks — The national code the state and territory regulators adopt or mirror.
- Safe Work Australia — Lifting, pushing and pulling (manual tasks)
- Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission — Provider standards that sit alongside WHS duties in aged care.
General information about Australian work health and safety duties, not legal advice. Your employer’s procedures and the regulator in your state take precedence.
Ready to start?
Work through the aged care course and the assessment at your own pace. You only pay A$49 if you pass and want the certificate.
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