AAMHP

The National Standard for Manual Tasks (2007) and the National Code of Practice for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders from Performing Manual Tasks at Work (2007) were declared by the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC) on 22 August 2007.

 The aim of the revised standard and code of practice is to prevent injuries that may be caused by performing manual tasks at work by setting out ways to identify and manage risks.

 While a manual task can be any physical activity requiring a person to use part of their body to perform their work, the standard and code of practice focus on identifying and managing hazardous manual tasks which have a greater likelihood of causing an injury.

 Hazardous manual tasks can include:

• repetitive or sustained awkward posture
• sustained movement or application of force
• the application of high force (such as hitting something with a hammer)
• exposure to sustained vibration (such as using a drill for an extended period)
• working with people or animals
• handling unstable or unbalanced loads
• handling loads which are difficult to grasp or holds