Victoria: fix the manual-handling task, not just the lifting technique

WorkSafe Victoria’s Hazardous manual handling compliance code, published 19 December 2019, explains how to identify and control musculoskeletal risks under Victorian OHS legislation. Its resource page was reviewed in September 2026.

What effective prevention involves

Identify hazardous tasks, assess the associated risks and change the work or workplace to eliminate or reduce them where reasonably practicable. Mechanical aids must suit the task and environment, remain accessible and be maintained. Introducing an aid also requires attention to new risks, such as interaction between mobile equipment and pedestrians.

Information and training can support controls. They are not an automatic substitute for reasonably practicable changes to the task or workplace. Review whether controls remain effective when work changes or problems emerge.

A corrections example

Consider repeated movement of supplies through secure doors. Before prescribing another lifting refresher, examine load size, trolley suitability, storage height, thresholds and whether doors can be negotiated safely. Trial a proposed improvement with the people doing the work and check whether it creates a new security or collision risk. This is an illustrative task review, not an operational instruction or a finding about a prison.

Status and source

Compliance with the code gives deemed compliance only for duties it covers. Other lawful ways of meeting those duties are possible. General education, not individual legal advice.

Read the WorkSafe resource page and complete official PDF, particularly its risk-control sections.