SafeWork SA encourages workplaces to prioritise prevention of injuries caused by body stress

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SafeWork SA encourages workplaces to prioritise prevention of injuries caused by body stress, urging South Australian employers to rethink how they manage lifting and other hazardous manual tasks that place strain on the body.

Each year, over 5,000 South Australian workers are incapacitated due to injuries associated with body stress, with average annual compensation costs exceeding $90 million, according to SafeWork SA.

Body Stressing Claims Remain a Major Workplace Safety Concern

Since 2018, the injury category covering muscle strain from lifting or carrying items, along with repetitive stress injuries, has made up 36 percent of all compensation claims filed with ReturnToWorkSA.

These figures highlight why safety leaders across construction, manufacturing and healthcare sectors need practical, risk-based approaches rather than relying solely on manual handling training. For organisations reviewing their approach, resources such as stress management policy documentation can support a more structured response to body stressing hazards.

Elimination Before Training: SafeWork SA's Key Message

SafeWork SA Director, Compliance and Enforcement Brett Pfeffer said the most effective method to prevent lifting-related injuries is to avoid engaging in lifting tasks completely.

"There is often a better way of performing a hazardous manual task that eliminates or significantly reduces the risk of injury," Brett said.

"Training has its place, but it should be focused on how to identify hazards, assess risks and eliminate them rather than how to lift."

Practical Steps to Reduce Risk of Body Stressing Injuries

Employers can strengthen workplace safety outcomes by considering the following measures:

• Reviewing tasks involving lifting, carrying or repetitive movement to identify hazards early
• Introducing mechanical aids or plant to remove manual handling risk where possible
• Redesigning workstations to reduce strain on the back and joints
• Consulting workers directly, since each worker understands their own tasks and associated risk better than anyone
• Addressing psychosocial hazards alongside physical hazards, as workplace pressure and fatigue can compound body stressing risk

Investing in the right plant and equipment often delivers a stronger return than training alone, particularly where plant can eliminate a hazardous manual task rather than simply reducing its intensity.

Why Elimination Outperforms Training Alone

Focusing purely on lifting technique fails to address root causes of body stressing hazards. SafeWork SA's approach reflects broader Australian workplace health and safety guidance, which prioritises hazard elimination over administrative controls.

Businesses that ensure hazards are assessed at the design stage, rather than managed after an incident occurs, typically see stronger safety outcomes and reduced compensation exposure over time.

This principle mirrors guidance from other jurisdictions. SafeWork NSW encourages workplaces to prioritise safety when conducting flood cleanup, applying similar elimination-first thinking to physically demanding recovery tasks. Likewise, SafeWork NSW urges workplaces to prioritise the health of tradies facing repetitive strain from manual roles.

Building a Mentally Healthy Workplace Alongside Physical Safety

Body stressing injuries rarely occur in isolation from psychosocial hazards. Mentally healthy workplaces that support worker wellbeing tend to report fewer manual handling incidents, since fatigue and stress can heighten physical risk during repetitive tasks.

Younger workers, in particular, benefit from early guidance on hazard identification. SafeWork encourages workplaces to prioritise safety of young employees during NSW Youth Week, reinforcing that safe manual handling habits should be established from the outset of a worker's career.

Tools to Support Ongoing Risk Management

Organisations reviewing their manual handling and slip hazard controls may also find value in tools such as a falls prevention checklist and structured reporting templates like an injuries report form to support consistent incident tracking across sites.

Further information can be found here.

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