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Hazardous manual task

A hazardous manual task is one with repetitive force, sustained force, awkward posture, or vibration. WHS Reg 60 triggers PCBU duties. Builder primer on controls.

By Chalkline. Last updated 14 May 2026. Verified 14 May 2026.

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A hazardous manual task is any task that requires a person to lift, push, pull, carry, hold, or restrain a thing under conditions likely to cause a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD). The definition sits in Regulation 60 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulation and triggers PCBU duties to identify, assess, and control the risk.

The five hazard factors. A task is hazardous if it involves one or more of:

  • Repetitive or sustained force: holding a tool above shoulder height for an extended period, repetitive screw-driving, prolonged trowelling.
  • High or sudden force: lifting a heavy sheet, restraining a kicked-back tool, catching a falling load.
  • Repetitive movement: nailing, hammering, screw-gun work for sustained periods.
  • Sustained or awkward posture: stooping under joist work, kneeling on hard floors, twisting while carrying.
  • Exposure to vibration: prolonged hammer-drill or jackhammer use, plate-compactor operation, riding on plant.

A task does not have to be heavy to be hazardous. Sustained awkward posture on its own qualifies. A common construction example: a chippy nail-gunning ceiling joists overhead for an hour qualifies on sustained force and awkward posture, even though no individual lift is heavy.

PCBU duties (Reg 60). The PCBU must:

  1. Identify hazardous manual tasks in the workplace.
  2. Assess the risk having regard to the hazard factors above.
  3. Control the risk using the hierarchy of controls (eliminate, substitute, isolate, engineering, administrative, PPE).
  4. Review controls when work changes or after an incident.

The control hierarchy applied to a hazardous manual task typically lands at the engineering tier. Examples: a panel lifter instead of overhead manual lifting, mechanical hoists, scaffold height matched to the work, lighter tools, vibration-dampened handles.

Where it triggers SWMS. A hazardous manual task is not automatically High Risk Construction Work. It triggers a SWMS only when it overlaps with an HRCW category (e.g. work at heights, demolition, asbestos disturbance). For non-HRCW hazardous manual tasks, the PCBU duties still apply but no formal SWMS is required.

For builders. Two practical points:

  1. Plan equipment up-front. Most hazardous manual tasks are predictable from the design drawings (ceiling install, sheet handling, heavy lintels). Build the engineering controls into the quote.
  2. Treat MSD trends as a signal. If multiple workers on the same trade are reporting back, shoulder, or knee injuries, the workplace is producing hazardous manual tasks and the controls are not working.

Also known as: HMT, manual handling task, hazardous lift.

Category: WHS / manual handling / ergonomics.

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-14. Verified: 2026-05-14.

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