HomeAll CoursesHazardous Manual Tasks and Manual Handling Safety
Physical Hazards
Hazardous Manual Tasks and Manual Handling Safety
Body stressing is the largest single cause of serious workers' compensation claims in Australia: 50,600 claims, or 34.5%, in 2023-24, according to Safe Work Australia's Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025. This gives every worker the same 45 minutes on what makes a task hazardous and what actually prevents it.
What You Will Learn
- Define a hazardous manual task and identify the characteristics that make manual tasks hazardous under the WHS Regulations
- Describe common musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and how they develop through both gradual wear and sudden overload
- Recognise the risk factors of force, posture, movement, repetition, duration, vibration and work environment in everyday tasks
- Explain safe lifting principles and, critically, why technique training alone is not an effective control
- Apply the hierarchy of controls to manual tasks, prioritising job redesign and mechanical aids over behaviour-based controls
Course Content
Final Assessment: 10 questions, 80% pass mark, retakes available
Who This Course Is For
All workers whose jobs involve lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, holding or restraining loads, including warehouse, healthcare, trades, retail, hospitality and office workers, plus the supervisors who plan their work.
Sources and Legal References
This course is aligned to 20 official sources. Legal and regulatory references checked between 12 August 2026 and 31 October 2026.
Sources and Further Reading
This course draws on the following official sources. Always rely on the current version on the regulator’s website.
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 No 10 (NSW)As at 03/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)As at 03/10/2026
- Code of PracticeCode of Practice: Hazardous manual tasks (NSW), SafeWork NSW, August 2019As at 03/10/2026
- LegislationOccupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationOccupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic)As at 12/08/2026
- Code of PracticeCompliance Code: Hazardous manual handling (Vic), Edition 2, December 2019As at 12/08/2026
- Regulator guidanceSafe Work Australia, Identify, assess and control hazardsAs at 31/08/2026
- Regulator guidanceSafe Work Australia, Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025As at 04/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (ACT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations 2011 (NT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA)As at 13/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulations 2012 (SA)As at 13/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2012 (Tas)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulations 2022 (Tas)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA)As at 31/10/2026
Always rely on the current version on the regulator’s website.
Accreditation: This is a non-accredited awareness course. It does not issue a unit of competency and is not a substitute for licensed or accredited training required for high-risk work in your state or territory.
$39.00
inc GSTSeven day refund if you have not started
Or
For employers and teams
Buy Seats for Your Team
$39.00 per seat, inc GST
Total inc GST$195.00
Or
What You Get
Certificate of Completion
This is to certify that
Sample Learner
has successfully completed
Hazardous Manual Tasks and Manual Handling Safety
All learning modules and the final assessment
Scan the QR code, or enter certificate ID WP-SAMPLE-0001 at workproof.com.au/verify
Kam Askari
Director, Creative Directions Management Consulting Pty Ltd
This is a certificate of completion of a non-accredited professional development course. It is not a nationally recognised qualification, a VET statement of attainment, a competency card, a licence, or evidence of competency. It is issued by Creative Directions Management Consulting Pty Ltd, which is not a Registered Training Organisation.
- Certificate verified by its ID
- 100% online, self-paced
- Six months of access
Bought for yourself: six months of access from the day you pay. Team seat: six months from the day the worker activates their code.
