Moving & Handling Training
Safer transfers. Confident staff. Better care.
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Moving and handling injuries remain one of the leading causes of harm to workers in New Zealand’s care sector - and one of the most preventable. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, every PCBU has a duty to manage manual handling risks so far as is reasonably practicable. That
means trained staff, the right equipment, and current competency on both.
Our training is delivered in line with ACC guidelines for moving and handling, so you can be confident your team is learning current, evidence-based practice.
We deliver practical, workplace-based training that meets your obligations and - more importantly - actually changes how your team works on the floor.
​Who We Train
Aged residential care, disability support services, hospitals, hospices, home-based care providers, retirement villages and rehabilitation facilities. Whether you have two staff or two hundred, we tailor training to your residents, your environment and the equipment you actually use. We also provide non-clinical manual handling training for staff in residential care facilities and retirement
villages - kitchen, housekeeping, maintenance, gardening and admin teams whose injuries are just as costly and just as preventable.
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What We Cover
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• The principles behind safe handling: Body mechanics, posture, communication and risk assessment - so your team can make good decisions in situations no checklist can fully predict.
• Person-centred transfers: Promoting resident independence and dignity, not just moving bodies. Using what the person can still do is safer for them and for staff.
• Equipment competency: Hands-on training with the equipment your team uses every day - hoists (mobile and ceiling), slide sheets, transfer boards, sit-to-stand aids, slings of every type, electric beds and pressure care equipment. We stay current on what’s on the market and how to use it well.
• Specialist and complex situations: Bariatric handling, falls recovery, confused or resistant residents, palliative care transfers, post-surgical mobilisation and complex neurological presentations. We bring the clinical reasoning to back up the technique.
• Risk assessment and documentation: Building handling plans that hold up to scrutiny and actually guide care - not paperwork for its own sake.
• Train-the-trainer options: Equipping your in-house champions to maintain competency between our visits.
Why Our Training Works​
• Delivered by experienced physiotherapists: We bring 25+ years of clinical experience working with adults 50+ to every session - including knowledge of the conditions your residents actually have.
• Current and credible: We stay up to date with NZ best practice, the latest equipment and evolving guidance for care settings. What we teach today reflects what’s working today.
• Practical, not theoretical: Training happens in your environment with your equipment. Staff leave with skills they can apply on the next shift.
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• Tailored to your risk profile: A dementia unit needs different training than a rehab ward. We design for your context.
How It Works
1. Site visit and scoping: We walk through your environment, talk with managers and staff, and identify the specific risks and skill gaps.
2. Tailored training plan: Content, duration and group sizes built around your needs and rostering reality.
3. Delivery: Hands-on, on-site sessions covering theory and practical skills with your equipment.
4. Ongoing support: Refresher training, new-staff inductions, equipment trials and clinical advice when you need it.
Meet your H&S obligations - and lift the standard of care
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Compliant training is the floor, not the ceiling. Done well, moving and handling training reduces staff injuries and ACC claims, improves resident outcomes, and builds a workforce that’s confident in difficult situations.