How do you use a manual pallet jack safely?
Push it rather than pull it, keep the load centred and low enough to see over, check the route and the floor before you start, move at walking pace, and get a powered pallet truck or a second person when the load, the distance or a ramp makes the manual jack a struggle. A manual pallet jack does not need a licence, but it is the piece of equipment most warehouse workers move the heaviest loads with, and the forces at the start of a move, on a slope or when a wheel drops into a gap are where people get hurt. This guide sets out the practice behind each of those points.
Last reviewed September 2026 · Applies to the Manual Handling Training for Warehouse and Logistics Workers course.
Before you move: the jack, the pallet and the load
A pallet jack is only as safe as its wheels and hydraulics. Before you use one, check that the load wheels and steer wheels turn freely and are not flat-spotted or clogged with wrap, that the forks lift and hold under load without creeping down, and that the handle returns to upright and the release lever works. A jack that pumps up slowly or drifts down is a defect to tag out and report, not a quirk to work around.
Look at the pallet. Broken boards, missing blocks and a pallet that is the wrong size for the forks will shift the load or drop it. Drive the forks fully under the pallet so the load wheels clear the bottom boards and the load sits over the fork length, then lift only high enough to clear the floor. A load lifted high rocks more and is harder to stop.
The load should be stable, wrapped or strapped, heavy items low and nothing hanging over an edge you cannot see past. If the stack is higher than your eye line, you are steering blind; either move it in a direction that gives you a view, get a spotter, or ask for it to be broken down. Module 7, Equipment, Aids and Tools for Warehousing and Freight, covers pre-use checks and defect reporting for manual and electric jacks in detail.
Pushing versus pulling
Push wherever the route allows. Pushing lets you use your body weight and leg drive, keeps your spine upright, keeps the load in front of you where you can see it and lets you stop by bracing rather than by being dragged. Pulling twists you, loads one shoulder and one side of your back, puts your heels in the path of the load wheels and means you are walking backwards into whatever is behind you.
There are moments where a short pull is unavoidable: breaking a pallet out of a tight bay, lining up in a truck, or the first metre from a stop when the handle geometry makes a push awkward. Keep those pulls short, face the direction of travel as soon as you can, and turn the move into a push at the first opportunity.
Starting is the hardest part of any move. The force needed to get a loaded jack rolling is far higher than the force to keep it rolling, and a sudden, high-force effort is one of the named risk factors in the Code of Practice. Position your feet, lean into the handle gradually and let the load build speed. If it will not start with a steady push, it is too heavy for a manual jack on that floor, and forcing it is not the answer.
Floors, dock plates, ramps and tail lifts
Small wheels find every gap. Expansion joints, drain grates, damaged concrete, dock leveller lips, the gap between a dock plate and a trailer bed and cable covers will stop a load wheel dead and drive the handle into you. Walk the route before a long move if you do not know it, keep the load wheels square to any joint you cross, and slow right down at the dock.
Ramps are where manual jacks cause the most serious incidents. A loaded jack on a slope will run, and it weighs many times what you do. Many sites prohibit manual jacks on anything more than a gentle grade and require a powered unit for ramps, container ramps and tail lifts. Where your site does allow it, follow its procedure exactly, use a second person, never stand where a runaway load would roll into you and never try to stop a running load with your body.
On a tail lift, centre the jack on the platform with the forks lowered, apply the roll-stop or retention ramp and keep your feet inside the platform edge. Spilled product, rain at the dock door and frost in cold rooms all take away the grip you rely on to push and to stop. A wet floor is a hazard to report and a reason to pause, not to push harder.
Moving, turning and stopping
Walking pace. A jack that is moving faster than you can stop it is out of control, and you cannot stop a loaded jack quickly. Keep both hands on the handle, keep your fingers clear of the handle's pinch points and the wall side of the load, and look ahead rather than down at the forks.
Turn wide and slowly. A tight, fast turn with a high load rolls the load or the pallet off the forks, and the handle can swing into your hip. Never use your foot as a brake, never ride on the forks or the handle, and never let a colleague ride the load. Lower the forks to the floor before you walk away, and leave the jack out of aisles and pedestrian routes.
Module 6, Lifting, Carrying, Pushing and Pulling Loads, works through starting, steering and stopping loaded jacks and roll cages, including the sudden-force risk at the start and the pinch and crush points at the finish.
When you should be using a powered unit instead
A manual jack is for short moves of manageable loads on a flat, clean floor. Long runs across a distribution centre, repeated moves all shift, ramps, tail lifts, loads at the top of the jack's rated capacity and any load you cannot start with a steady push are jobs for a pedestrian-operated powered pallet truck, a ride-on pallet mover or a forklift.
A pedestrian powered pallet truck does not need a high-risk work licence, but your site must train you on it and authorise you to use it, and it will have its own procedures. Forklifts and order-picking forklifts do need a high-risk work licence issued through your state or territory regulator. This course is not a licence course of any kind; it treats powered equipment as a control higher in the hierarchy than technique, and it expects you to ask for it.
This training is theory. The pre-use checklist, the ramp rules and the rated capacities that apply to you come from your site's procedures and the manufacturer's instructions, and those, together with the guidance of your state or territory regulator, take precedence over anything general written here.
Common questions
Sources
- 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)
- National Heavy Vehicle Regulator — Chain of Responsibility — Loading and load restraint duties (not applicable in WA and the NT).
General information about Australian work health and safety duties, not legal advice. Your employer’s procedures and the regulator in your state take precedence.
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