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Warehousing industry
The incident
A young worker received bruising injuries following a collision between the forklift he was operating and heavy-duty racking. The worker was unsupervised and had not been assessed as competent to operate forklifts.
What should the employer have done?
The worker should not have been allowed to operate the forklift as it is against the law to do so if they have not been assessed as competent to operate one. Upon satisfactory completion of the assessment with a Registered Training Organisation a person will receive a Notice of Satisfactory Assessment.
Workers may operate a forklift without a Notice of Satisfactory Assessment for the purposes of training under the direct supervision of a competent person.
Employers need to provide additional induction and training to employees who are new to the task to ensure that they are familiar with the task requirements and the environment in which the task is to be carried out.
Workers have the right to refuse to undertake an unsafe task even if a manager or supervisor instructs them to do so.
Last updated: 21 October, 2010
Telephone 1300 365 255
Employers and employees within South Australia can contact their local SafeWork SA office, or the Help Centre, for the cost of a local call. This service is available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm, and on Wednesdays from 8.30am to 4.15pm (excluding public holidays)
Email: help@safework.sa.gov.au
