Manual Handling

2 Risk assessment process

The principal and/or their delegate must assess the level of risk for tasks that have been identified as potentially hazardous, take into account the current risk controls implemented and the following risk factors:

• task (e.g. undertaken for long periods of time)
• individual (e.g. skills and training level)
• load (e.g. too heavy, too large)
• environment (e.g. stairs to navigate, lack of space)

A risk assessment can be completed by any employee in a school, in consultation with the principal and/or their delegate and other relevant employees using the Risk Assessment Template or equivalent when:

• there is a high or extreme level of risk in the OHS Risk Register
• there is uncertainty about the level of risk associated with activities to be undertaken
• there is limited understanding and/or knowledge about individual manual handling tasks to be performed

The assigned level of risk must be recorded in the OHS risk register and/or Risk Assessment Template or equivalent.

Sample risk assessments have been designed as generic guides to assist workplaces in assessing common manual handling risks.

A Safe Work Procedure (SWP) must be developed and displayed adjacent to where the hazardous manually handling task is to be carried out. Employees must be trained in the process as documented in the SWP.