OH Consultant

Self-paced course · CIH-authored

Manual Handling

Recognising and controlling hazardous manual tasks in Australian workplaces. A 60-minute, self-paced, non-accredited awareness course with a Certificate of Completion.

1
hour
7
modules
7
lessons
12
month validity
Learning outcomes

What you'll be able to do

Six outcomes, each measurable against the final assessment.

01
Recognise a hazardous manual task — apply the legal definition rather than judging by weight alone
02
Explain how musculoskeletal disorders develop, including gradual-onset damage
03
Identify the five risk factors and spot them in your own work
04
Assess a task using the source of risk, not the symptom
05
Apply the hierarchy of control to manual tasks, where technique is the last resort
06
Describe the duties of the PCBU and the worker, and why early reporting changes the outcome
Audience

Who this is for

Anyone who lifts, lowers, pushes, pulls, carries, holds or restrains anything at work — labourers and trades, warehouse and logistics staff, aged care and disability support workers, cleaners, hospitality and retail staff, office workers, and the supervisors who design their work. No prerequisites.

Curriculum

What's inside

7 modules of CIH-authored content, sequenced so each module builds on the last.

  1. 01
    What counts as a hazardous manual task
    1 lesson
  2. 02
    How the damage happens
    1 lesson
  3. 03
    The five risk factors
    1 lesson
  4. 04
    Assessing the task
    1 lesson
  5. 05
    Controlling the risk
    1 lesson
  6. 06
    Duties, reporting and early intervention
    1 lesson
  7. 07
    Knowledge check
    1 lesson
On completion

Your certificate

Pass the final assessment and your certificate is issued automatically. It records the course title and version, the completion date, your assessment result, and a verifiable certificate ID.

Pass mark
80% on the final assessment
Award
Audit-ready certificate of completion
Verifiable
Unique cert ID — auditor-readable
Validity
12 months from completion
Aligned with

Standards & credibility

This course is aligned with the standards below. CPD hours are claimable; accreditation by an external body remains separate.

Model Work Health and Safety Regulations Part 4.2 — Hazardous manual tasks (Safe Work Australia)
Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice (Safe Work Australia)
Model WHS Act — primary duty of care, consultation, and worker duties
AS/NZS ISO 11228 series — Ergonomics: manual handling
Authored and reviewed by a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH).
Why people take this course

Someone asked you for it.

Manual handling is not a licence and no single course is mandated nationally — but a PCBU must show its workers were informed about hazardous manual tasks, so it turns up as a condition of induction and of insurance.

01
Site or client induction
A site, client or labour hire agency wants evidence of manual handling training before you start.
02
Your PCBU duty
If your work involves hazardous manual tasks, you must provide information, training, instruction and supervision.
03
After an injury or a claim
A strain has been reported and the controls — including training — are being reviewed.
04
Insurer or auditor
An insurer, auditor or prequalification scheme wants documented evidence the workforce was trained.
Why it matters

There is no legal lifting limit. There never was.

0 kg
The maximum weight set by Australian WHS law. Not 20, not 25 — the regulations test force, posture, repetition and vibration, never weight alone.
5
Risk factors that make a manual task hazardous. A task only needs one of them to require control.
4 of 5
Where training sits in the hierarchy of control. Above only PPE — which is why technique alone has a poor record of preventing these injuries.
Who it's for

Built for the trades who actually run into it.

Labourers & trades
Warehouse & logistics
Aged care & disability support
Cleaners
Hospitality & retail
Nurses & allied health
Delivery drivers
Removalists
Childcare
Office & desk-based staff
Supervisors & team leaders
Farm & agriculture workers
What you get

More than a video and a tick box.

Certificate of completion
Issued the moment you pass, with a unique verification number anyone can check online.
Task assessment prompt sheet
The questions to ask about a task before it hurts someone — task, object, area, work organisation.
Site summary card
The five risk factors and the controls that beat them, on a single page for the crib room wall.
Six months of access
Come back to any module whenever you need it, for six months from the day you buy.
How the assessment works

You have to actually pass it.

Ten scenario questions drawn from all six modules. Not definitions — the judgement calls a supervisor actually makes about a task.

80%
Pass mark. Eight correct out of ten.
3
Attempts. Fail all three and the course resets, so you work through the modules again before retesting.
6 mo
Access from purchase. Resetting does not cost you anything extra.
Before you enrol

What this course is — and is not

This course is
  • ✓General awareness training on hazardous manual tasks for Australian workplaces
  • ✓Designed to help you meet your duty to be informed before you pick anything up
  • ✓Applicable to every industry — construction, care, warehousing, hospitality and office work
  • ✓Written and reviewed by certified occupational hygiene professionals
This course is not
  • ✕Nationally accredited training or a Statement of Attainment
  • ✕A physiotherapy, fitness or rehabilitation programme
  • ✕A substitute for the task-specific instruction and supervision your employer must provide
FAQ

Common questions

Is this nationally accredited?

No. This is a non-accredited awareness course and you receive a Certificate of Completion, not a Statement of Attainment. There is no nationally accredited manual handling unit that most workplaces require — awareness training of this kind is the standard product, which is one reason manual handling suits online delivery better than licensed high-risk work does.

What is the legal maximum weight a person can lift?

There is not one. Australian WHS law sets no maximum weight, and the Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice explains why: the same object is safe in one situation and dangerous in another. A 15 kg box at waist height lifted once is low risk; the same box at ankle height, twisting, forty times a shift, is not. The course covers what the law does test for.

Is this just a lifting technique video?

No, and that is deliberate. Technique sits at level four of the five-level hierarchy of control, above only PPE, and training-only programmes have a poor record of preventing manual task injuries. Technique is covered, but most of the course is about recognising hazardous tasks and changing them — which is what actually works.

Can I buy for my crew?

Yes. Team seats start at ten and come with enrolment codes, a completion dashboard and an exportable register for audits. We accept purchase orders and invoicing — email info@ohconsultant.com.au.

What if I fail the knowledge check?

You get three attempts, with module-specific review between them. If you do not pass on the third, the course resets and you work through the modules again before retesting — at no extra cost. Your six-month access period is unchanged.

Build the set

Most people don't stop at one.

Ready when you are

Start the course

Self-paced. Re-takeable. Pass the assessment and your certificate is unlocked.

Manual Handling — OH Consultant LMS