Manual Handling Training for Your Staff: A Guide for Employers

Your duty to provide information, training, instruction and supervision

Under section 19(3)(f) of the model Work Health and Safety Act, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the provision of any information, training, instruction or supervision necessary to protect all persons from risks arising from the work. Regulation 39 adds that training must be suitable and adequate for the nature of the work, the risks and the control measures in place, and delivered in a way workers can readily understand. Regulation 60 requires the risk of a musculoskeletal disorder from a hazardous manual task to be managed, having regard to factors including postures, movements and forces, duration and frequency, the work environment and the systems of work.

Victoria runs its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, where section 21(2)(e) gives employers the equivalent duty. Every other state and territory runs a version of the model WHS laws.

Training is also only one control. WorkSafe Victoria and SafeWork NSW are both clear that training must support higher-order controls, such as mechanical aids and better layouts, rather than replace them, and that 'how to lift' technique training alone does not meet the duty to control hazardous manual task risk.

Where an online theory course fits in induction and refreshers

According to the Code of Practice for hazardous manual tasks used in New South Wales, a code based on Safe Work Australia's model, training in control measures belongs at induction into a new job and in ongoing manual task risk control. It should cover manual task risk management, the specific risks and controls in place, how to perform tasks safely using mechanical aids, equipment and safe work procedures, and how to report problems or maintenance issues.

The general principles are the same in every workplace and costly to teach face to face to each new starter, while the specific tasks, equipment and procedures are yours. An online course can carry the general layer. A workable split looks like this:

• Before day one: the online course, so new starters arrive knowing the risk factors, the hierarchy of controls and how to report
• Induction: your procedures, your reporting system and a walk-through of the site
• Practical sessions: hands-on training and sign-off on each piece of equipment they will use
• Supervised shifts: working alongside a competent colleague before working alone
• Ongoing: refreshers on your schedule, and earlier after incidents, new equipment or changed procedures

Matching each worker to the right course

There are nine courses, one per industry, each built around the tasks, equipment and settings of that work. They share the same structure and assessment rules, but the examples differ: a construction worker reads about team lifts and uneven ground, while an early childhood educator reads about lifting children, low furniture and cots.

Ask each worker to take the course that matches what they do on a normal shift, not the industry your business is registered in. A mixed workforce may need more than one course. A hotel might send housekeepers through the cleaning course, kitchen and bar staff through the hospitality and retail course, and reception staff through the office course.

A hospital may likewise use the nursing course for clinical staff and the cleaning course for its cleaners. Where one person's duties span two kinds of work, choose the course that covers their heaviest or most frequent manual tasks.

Checking a worker's certificate

Every Certificate of Completion carries a unique number in the form MHA-YEAR-XXXXXX and a QR code. Scan the code or enter the number on the verification page to confirm it is genuine; the page shows the holder's name, the course and the completion date, and nothing else. The certificate itself names the course and lists its eight modules, so you can see what was covered.

The Code of Practice recommends keeping records of induction and training, such as the date, the topics covered and who attended. The certificate covers most of that for the theory; your records should cover practical sessions and equipment sign-offs.

Each worker sits the 20-question multiple-choice assessment individually and needs 75% to pass. A certificate is issued only after a pass and payment, so each one represents an individual result.

What the course does not do

It is non-accredited workplace training. It is not HLTWHS005 or any other unit of competency, it does not issue a Statement of Attainment, and it is not endorsed by any regulator.

It does not replace your workplace-specific practical training, equipment competency assessment, supervision or procedures. Where your procedures differ from the general guidance in a course, yours apply, and workers should raise the difference with a supervisor.

How enrolment works

Group invoicing, bulk purchasing and central reporting are not available yet. Each person enrols and pays individually, after passing, and receives their own certificate. If you are planning a rollout across a team or several sites, contact us first so we can talk through how it will work.

• Self-paced, about 45–60 minutes, so it fits around rosters and shifts
• Works on a phone, tablet or computer, with progress saved on the device
• Training and assessment free; A$49 per certificate, one-off, no subscription
• Fee not refundable once a certificate has been issued

Common questions

More questions

• Online certificate
• Cost and pricing
• Refresher training
• Support workers
• Manual handling training by state
• All guides by industry