Equipment and Assistive Technology
Hoists, slings, slide sheets, transfer boards, wheelchairs, vehicle equipment and bathroom aids — what they are for, how to check them, and how to get the right equipment through the participant's plan.
Last reviewed September 2026 · Part of Manual Handling Training for Disability Support Workers
Key learning points
- Recognise the manual handling equipment and assistive technology common in disability support
- Understand that every piece of equipment requires training and authorisation before use
- Perform appropriate pre-use checks, including weight ratings and sling condition
- Respond correctly to faulty, missing or unsuitable equipment without improvising
- Know how equipment is requested through a participant's plan and their OT
Common equipment
- Ceiling hoist
- Track-mounted lifting in a bedroom or bathroom; removes pushing and floor-space problems, but still needs the correct sling and the number of workers in the plan
- Mobile (floor) hoist
- Full-body lifting for participants who cannot weight-bear; heavy to push on carpet, needs charged batteries and clear floor space
- Stand-aid hoist
- For participants who can bear some weight, grip and follow instructions; often used for toilet transfers
- Slings
- Full-body, toileting, hammock and walking slings, each in sizes and with loop colours; the plan specifies which one for which transfer
- Slide sheets
- Reduce friction for repositioning and turning in bed, and for sliding across a transfer board
- Transfer boards and transfer belts
- Bridge a seated transfer, or give a secure handhold for steadying a participant who is walking or standing
- Manual wheelchairs
- Check tyres, brakes, anti-tip bars and pelvic strap; power-assist wheels reduce the pushing force
- Power wheelchairs
- Driven by the participant, 100–150 kilograms; never lifted by workers
- Vehicle ramps, hoists and restraints
- Portable or built-in ramps, platform hoists, and four-point tie-downs with occupant restraints
- Shower commodes
- Combined shower and toilet chair; check castors, brakes, footplates and the pelvic strap
- Height-adjustable beds and bed rails
- Set the height before care and lower it afterwards; rails only as prescribed
- Bath lifts and bathroom aids
- Battery bath lifts, over-toilet frames, shower stools and grab rails, installed after an OT assessment
This course does not teach you to operate equipment
Online text cannot replace practical, supervised, equipment-specific training. Hoists, slings, vehicle hoists and restraint systems must be learned on the actual equipment, with a competent trainer, before you use them with a participant. If you are new to a home and the hoist there is a model you have not used, say so and ask for a walk-through.
Pre-use checks
- Hoist: battery charged, emergency lower works, brakes hold, castors roll freely, spreader bar and hooks undamaged, service tag in date
- Sling: correct type and size for this participant, no fraying, tears, loose stitching or faded labels, loops intact, label legible
- Slide sheet: no tears, still slides, is the size the plan specifies
- Wheelchair: tyres inflated, brakes hold on a slope, anti-tip bars fitted, footplates secure, cushion in place
- Shower commode: castors and brakes work, seat and footplates secure, no cracks
- Vehicle: ramp locks in place, hoist platform cycles cleanly, tie-downs retract and lock, occupant restraint present
- Bed: raises and lowers, brakes on, rails locked if prescribed
Weight ratings
Every hoist, sling, commode, bed, ramp, transfer board and vehicle hoist has a safe working load marked on it. These are equipment limits, not rules about how much a worker may lift. The lowest rating in the chain applies: a hoist rated to 200 kilograms and a sling rated to 130 kilograms together are a 130 kilogram system. A vehicle hoist's rating includes the wheelchair — a 130 kilogram power wheelchair and its user together may exceed a platform rated to 300 kilograms. If the participant and their equipment approach a rating, stop and raise it with your provider before the next transfer.
Never improvise
- No bed sheets or garbage bags as slide sheets, and no towels as transfer belts
- No ironing boards, chopping boards or cushions as transfer boards
- No borrowing a sling from another participant, or using a size that is nearly right
- No home-made ramps from planks or pallets
- No pushing a hoist with a flat battery harder, and no using the emergency lower as a routine control
- No modifying equipment — removing anti-tip bars, adding cushions under a sling, taping a broken footplate
Getting the right equipment
In disability support, most equipment is assistive technology funded through the participant's NDIS plan and prescribed by their OT or physiotherapist after an assessment. Your provider has a duty to make sure the supports you deliver are safe, so if the equipment a task needs is missing, broken or the wrong size, they must arrange interim measures — hire equipment, a changed task or a second worker — and request the right item through the plan. Your part is to report clearly what is needed and why, and not to fill the gap with your body.
Practical scenario
Scenario: the sling in the wash
A participant's only full-body sling is in the washing machine after an accident. There is a toileting sling in the cupboard that looks about the same size, and the participant needs to get up for lunch.
What should you do?
Reveal the explanation
Do not use the toileting sling for a full-body transfer. Sling types support the body differently, and using the wrong one can let the participant slide out or damage their skin. Explain the delay to the participant, bring lunch to them if needed, dry the correct sling or call your coordinator for a loan sling, and report that the home needs a second sling so this does not happen again.
Practical scenario
Scenario: the plywood ramp
A participant's brother has built a ramp from a sheet of plywood over the front step. It flexes as the wheelchair goes over, has no edges and slides on wet days.
Is it acceptable to keep using it?
Reveal the explanation
No. It has no rating, no edge protection and no fixing, and it can collapse or slide with the participant on it. Use the alternative entrance for now, thank the brother for trying to help, and report it so your provider and the OT can arrange a rated portable ramp through the participant's plan. Document the hazard and the interim arrangement.
Practical scenario
Scenario: the hesitating hoist
The mobile hoist in an SIL home sometimes pauses and judders when lowering. A housemate says it has done that for weeks and everyone just waits it out.
Is it acceptable to keep using it carefully?
Reveal the explanation
No. An intermittent fault on a lifting device is a serious hazard, whatever the cause. Take it out of service according to your provider's process, tag it, report it, and arrange a replacement or hire hoist through your coordinator. That it has been happening for weeks is itself something to report — the reporting system in that home is not working.
Knowledge check
These questions are for your own learning. They are not part of the final assessment.
1. You arrive at a new SIL home and the ceiling hoist is a model you have never used. A housemate offers to talk you through it. What should you do?
Equipment use requires proper training and authorisation on the actual model. Informal instruction from a housemate does not make it safe or acceptable.
2. A hoist is rated to 180 kilograms and the only sling available is rated to 130 kilograms. The participant weighs about 140 kilograms. You should:
The system is only as strong as its lowest-rated component. Stop and get the correctly rated sling; do not improvise.
3. One loop on a full-body sling is fraying and the label has faded so the size is unreadable. The correct response is to:
Damaged slings and unreadable labels both make a sling unsafe. Remove it from use and report it through your provider's process.
4. A participant's family has built a plywood ramp over the front step. What should you do?
Unrated, home-made equipment is improvisation. Use a safe alternative in the meantime and get the right equipment through the proper channel.