WorkCover - New South Wales

Employers in NSW must comply with the requirements of the OHS Act 2000 and the OHS Regulation 2001.

In NSW, employers:

• must ensure the health safety and welfare of their workers
• have a duty to consult with workers over OHS issues
• must undertake hazard identification, risk assessment and control, in consultation with those workers who are required to carry out the manual handling tasks. This a legal requirement.

The National Code of Practice: Manual Handling provides practical advice in meeting the requirements of the National Standard for Manual Handling in relation to the identification, assessment and control of risks arising from manual handling in the workplace.

If consultation has not taken place or has not resulted in safe manual handling procedures then, practically speaking, the worker can:

• talk directly to management or a supervisor about the problem;
• bring the problem to the attention of the OHS committee (if existing);
• contact the industrial union (if a member)
• if all else fails, contact the local WorkCover office.