Courses · Work Health & Safety
Safe Manual Handling and Assisted Transfers
Protect your back and your participant's dignity — hazard assessment, transfer technique, hoists and slings, falls, and the lifts that must never be used.
About this certificate
Non-accredited Certificate of Completion. This module covers principles and decision-making. Your employer must also provide hands-on, equipment-specific competency assessment for every transfer device you use.
About this module
Musculoskeletal injury is the leading cause of lost time in disability and aged care work, and most of it is preventable. This module covers the WHS duties that apply, how to assess a hazardous manual task, the principles behind every safe transfer, correct use of slide sheets, transfer belts, standing hoists and full-body hoists, what to do when a participant falls, and the outdated techniques that are now prohibited.
Who it is for
Support workers, personal care workers, SIL staff, allied health assistants, community workers and team leaders who assist participants with mobility, transfers or repositioning.
What you will be able to do
- State the WHS duties that apply to you, your employer and the participant
- Assess a manual handling task for postures, forces, movements, duration and environment
- Apply the principles of safe body mechanics to any transfer
- Select and use slide sheets, transfer belts and hoists correctly
- Respond safely to a participant fall without causing further injury
- Recognise and refuse prohibited techniques such as the drag lift
Aligned to
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and WHS Regulations
- Safe Work Australia — Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice
- NDIS Practice Standards — Provision of Supports Environment
- NDIS Code of Conduct — safe and competent supports
Lesson plan
What the module covers
| # | Lesson | What it covers | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The risk, and the law | Why backs fail, and what the WHS Act actually requires of everyone involved. | 10m |
| 02 | Assessing a hazardous manual task | Postures, forces, movements, duration, environment — and the person. | 12m |
| 03 | Principles of safe movement | What your body should be doing during any transfer, and the commands that make it work. | 12m |
| 04 | Transfers, slings and hoists | Choosing a method, and using each one correctly. | 14m |
| 05 | Falls, injuries and reporting | What to do when someone goes down, and what to do about your own back. | 10m |
| ✓ | Final assessment | 12 scenario-based questions · pass mark 80% · unlimited attempts | ~15m |
Also in Work Health & Safety
Keeping Safe at Work
Your rights and duties under WHS law, how to identify and control hazards in a participant's home, working alone, fatigue, driving, and reporting injuries and near misses.
Waste Management
Handle and dispose of general, clinical, sharps, pharmaceutical and hazardous waste safely — and what to do after a needlestick or body-fluid exposure.
Fire Safety
Prevent fires in homes and group settings, respond with RACE, choose the right extinguisher, and evacuate people who cannot evacuate themselves.