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Ensuring Safe Practices Through NDIS Manual Handling Training
For NDIS providers and support workers, the ability to safely assist NDIS participants (people with disability) with mobility, transportation, and personal care isn't just a matter of good practice—it's essential for preventing injuries, ensuring dignity, and meeting compliance requirements. As a result, support workers must have appropriate training before undertaking any manual handling.
Why is manual handling training critical in NDIS support?
Disability services provide residential care, supported living, community-based activities, day programs, and employment support, helping people with disability be more independent at home and in the community.
Often, these supports involve manual handling: any activity requiring force by a person to lift, lower, push, pull, carry, or otherwise move, hold, or restrain any animate or inanimate object.
Let's explore three reasons why effective training is crucial.
- Prevent workplace injuries
Injuries often result from lifting and moving people or heavy objects. Tasks that involve bending, twisting, or turning, such as repetitive duties like laundry or helping a person shower, can also increase the risk of injury, especially musculoskeletal disorders like sprains and strains to the back and shoulders.
Insights from the Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2021-22 Work-related Injuries Report highlight the impacts faced by support workers who consistently perform manual handling tasks. Across the nation, community and personal service workers had the highest prevalence of manual handling-related injuries at 7%. The most common causes of work-related injuries were lifting, pushing, pulling or bending, accounting for 24% of all injuries.
Properly trained support workers are significantly less likely to experience these injuries, protecting their health and ability to provide consistent care.
- Protect participant safety and dignity
When manual handling techniques are performed incorrectly, participants face increased risks, including:
- Physical discomfort or pain during transfers
- Potential falls or accidents
- Loss of dignity due to awkward or unprofessional handling
It's also important to take a person-centred, trauma-informed approach. Some participants may have past trauma, so quality manual handling training goes a long way in ensuring that participants receive respectful and dignified support.
- Meet compliance
Under the NDIS Practice Standards and the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011, all workers must have appropriate training and work safely when performing manual handling tasks.
All service providers have a duty of care to ensure training is provided, and support workers have a duty of care to ensure they work safely, protecting themselves and the people they support.
The etrainu advantage: disability support training
etrainu's Manual Handling course has been designed for NDIS compliance and showcases safe handling techniques.
With practical video demonstrations, learners gain the skills and knowledge needed to safely and effectively support people with disability with transportation, mobility, and personal care—and confidently fulfil their roles in creating a safe working environment.
Created in collaboration with the National Disability Services, the leading industry association for disability service providers, this library offers a comprehensive NDIS training solution focused on safe manual handling techniques, ensuring learners will be able to:
- Identify hazards and risks associated with manual handling
- Use correct techniques to complete manual tasks safely
- Assist with mobility, transportation, and personal care
- Follow WHS risk management guidelines for manual handling
The course comprises of:
- 4 Core modules:
- Hazardous Manual Tasks & Managing Risks
- Mobility
- Transportation
- Personal Care
- 7 Learning Bites
- Repositioning in Bed
- Using a Hoist
- Using a Standing Hoist
- Using a Slide Sheet
- Using a Transfer Belt
- Assisted Sitting, Standing, and Walking
- Wheelchair Management
As with the rest of our NDS Workforce Essentials courses, our Manual Handling training is mapped to the NDIS Practice Standards and has been recently refreshed to reflect current models and best practices.
Through this course, service providers can rest assured that their staff are getting the training they need, gaining the skills to work safely, thereby reducing injuries, meeting compliance requirements, and continuing to deliver high-quality care.
Our NDIS manual handling training is in our NDS Workforce Essentials library.
