The Importance of Safe Lifting

Discover why safe lifting is essential for workplace safety and legal compliance. Learn how Safe Lifting Australia helps reduce injury risks, fines, and downtime.

Matt Weight

12/18/20241 min read

Protecting People, Preventing Downtime, and Promoting Compliance

Lifting operations are a daily occurrence across construction, mining, oil & gas, and industrial sectors. But when performed incorrectly, they can result in serious injuries, downtime, and even prosecution. At Safe Lifting Australia, we believe that lifting safely is not just a best practice — it’s a business-critical necessity.

Why Lifting Safely Matters

💡 1 in 5 workplace injuries involve hazardous manual tasks.
According to Safe Work Australia, over 45,000 serious claims were made due to body-stressing injuries — many of these resulted from unsafe lifting techniques, poor equipment condition, or lack of training.

Unsafe lifting doesn’t just affect the injured worker. It impacts your whole business:

Lost productivity due to downtime.
Expensive injury claims and insurance hikes.
Fines and prosecutions under WHS legislation.
Reputational damage with clients and regulators.

Recent Penalties and Cases

In 2023, a WA construction firm was fined $75,000 after a load slipped from an overhead crane, narrowly missing a worker.
An employer in NSW was prosecuted when a rigger suffered a spinal injury during a poorly coordinated dual-lift — the PCBU failed to follow a lifting plan and was found liable.

Key Risk Factors in Unsafe Lifting

✅ Lack of pre-use inspections
✅ Worn or uncertified slings and lifting gear
✅ Absence of lift plans or risk assessments
✅ Inadequate operator or dogman training
✅ Poorly maintained cranes or hoists
✅ Overloading or inappropriate rigging configuration

Our Role in Promoting Safer Lifting

At Safe Lifting Australia, we are committed to driving compliance and safety by offering:

Third-party inspections and annual verifications
Rigging gear inspections to AS3775, AS4497, and AS4991
Training for doggers, riggers, and crane operators
Major inspections and load testing as per AS2550 standards
Crane re-certification and engineering assessments

“The best time to review your lifting safety is before a failure occurs — not after the regulator calls.”

What You Can Do Today:

✅ Ensure your lifting equipment is inspected and tagged.
✅ Review Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) for lifting tasks.
✅ Train your team to identify unsafe rigging practices.
✅ Get your cranes assessed if they are nearing their 10 or 25-year major inspection cycle.
✅ Book a third-party audit for peace of mind.