Training Family Carers in Safe Manual Handling for Home Transfers

Published by SESI Care Services · Updated August 2026 · 2-minute summary

Quick answer: Carers get hurt when they lift the person instead of helping them move. A physiotherapist or occupational therapist (OT) can come to your home, watch your daily transfers, set up the right equipment and train you to assist safely. Under the NDIS this is claimed from Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living. Under Support at Home it is clinical care, with no participant contribution.

Key takeaways

• Assist, don’t lift. The person does as much of the movement as they can; you guide and steady.
• The riskiest moments are the everyday ones: bed to chair, the toilet, the car.
• A physio or OT can train family carers at home, in your rooms, with your furniture.
• The NDIS funds it from Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living; Support at Home funds it as clinical care with no participant contribution.
• Equipment changes the picture. A transfer belt, slide sheet or bed stick can turn a lift into an assist. A hoist often means two people.
• Carer Gateway (1800 422 737) offers free coaching, counselling and respite for carers.

Why do family carers get hurt doing transfers?

Carers get hurt because they take the person’s weight instead of helping the person take their own. A transfer is any move from one place to another — out of bed, up from a chair, onto the toilet, into the car. Paid workers are trained for these moves. Family carers often watch a hospital nurse once, then work it out at home.

Three common patterns:

1. Lifting instead of assisting. Hauling someone up under the armpits loads the carer’s back and can hurt the person’s shoulders too.
2. Tight spaces, often when the person is tired, in pain or needing the toilet urgently.
3. No equipment. Without a belt, slide sheet or rail, the carer is the equipment.

WorkSafe Victoria’s hazardous manual handling guidance reports that 35 per cent of the manual handling injuries it reviewed were to the back and 20 per cent to the shoulder. Its first recommended control is mechanical aids and equipment, not muscle. The Safe Work Australia model code of practice on hazardous manual tasks sets the same standard for paid workers. This post is not a substitute for being shown in person.

What does “assist, don’t lift” actually mean?

It means the person does the movement and you make it safer. Training builds on a few ideas:

• Give the person time and a cue so they use their own legs.
• Set the surfaces up first. Right height, firm armrests, brakes on, path clear.
• Match the equipment to the person’s ability. A belt if they can stand with help; a slide sheet for moving in bed; a hoist if they cannot take their weight.
• Know the stop signal. If the person goes limp or dizzy, the safe move is to sit them back down, not hold them up.

Therapists also plan for your own body: your height, any back or knee problems, whether you are the only adult at home. They plan for what to do when a transfer goes wrong, including the fall you should not try to catch.

Which home transfers should a carer be trained in?

The ones you do most often, in the rooms where you do them:

• Sit-to-stand. Up from a chair, bed edge or toilet — the base move for everything else. Training covers foot position, where you stand, and how a belt or higher seat helps.
• Bed to chair (or wheelchair). Rolling, sitting up, moving to the edge, then standing or pivoting across. Training covers bed height, slide sheets and transfer boards.
• Toilet transfers. The most rushed transfer of the day, in the smallest room. Training covers rails, raised seats and managing clothing safely.
• Car transfers. Low seat, door frame, footpath. Training covers a swivel cushion, where to park, and when accessible transport is safer.

Showering and dressing are the same conversation — see our guide to daily living aids OTs recommend.

Which equipment changes the picture?

Equipment is usually the first thing a therapist suggests, because the right item removes the lift.

Transfer	Main risk	Equipment that helps	Who trains you
Sit-to-stand	Carer hauls under the arms; knees buckle	Transfer belt, firm chair with arms, raised seat	Physiotherapist
Bed to chair	Twisting while bearing weight in a tight space	Slide sheet, bed stick or bed rail, adjustable-height bed, transfer board	Physiotherapist or OT
Toilet	Rushed, clothing in the way, no rail to hold	Grab rails, over-toilet frame or raised seat, commode for nights	OT
Car	Low seat, door frame, uneven footpath	Swivel cushion, clip-in door handle, choosing the right seat	OT or physiotherapist
Cannot take their weight	Carer lifts full body weight	Mobile or ceiling hoist with the right sling	OT prescribes, physio trains

A transfer belt gives you a secure hold for steadying — not lifting. A slide sheet moves a person across a bed with far less effort, but is easy to use badly. A bed stick is prescribed carefully, because the wrong rail on the wrong bed can trap someone. A hoist is the safe answer when someone cannot take weight through their legs. A hoist transfer often needs two trained people: one on the controls, one guiding the sling. That may mean a support worker at transfer times. SESI support workers can assist with personal activities including transfers.

Under the NDIS, equipment is funded from Capital – Assistive Technology, usually after an OT report; low-cost items can come from Core consumables. Rails are home modifications — see our guide to home modifications that improve mobility. Under Support at Home, equipment comes through the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme.

Who trains family carers, and where?

A physiotherapist or occupational therapist, at your home. Both must be registered with their Ahpra boards. Physiotherapists focus on the movement itself and how you assist. Occupational therapists focus on the task and the environment: bathroom layout, bed height, equipment.

A typical carer-training block looks like this:

1. Assessment visit. The therapist watches the transfers you do now, where you do them. See your first in-home allied health visit.
2. Equipment and set-up. Heights adjusted, furniture moved, equipment trialled or ordered.
3. Hands-on training. You practise each transfer with the therapist guiding until you are confident.
4. A written transfer plan. One page, kept visible, so every carer does it the same way.
5. A follow-up visit once equipment has arrived.

Repeat the training after a hospital stay, a fall, new pain, or a new carer in the household. SESI delivers occupational therapy and physiotherapy in homes across Victoria.

How is carer training funded under the NDIS and Support at Home?

Under the NDIS, carer training is claimed from Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living, because a safe transfer is what lets the participant stay at home. The therapist claims at the standard hourly rate, with travel as its own line. The 2026–27 price limits are $193.99 per hour for OT and $183.99 per hour for physiotherapy. Read our guide to funding allied health at home: NDIS vs Support at Home and the cluster pillar on how to access in-home allied health under the NDIS in Victoria.

The Support at Home program is for people aged 65 and over who are not on the NDIS. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy sit in its clinical care group, which carries no participant contribution. Access is through My Aged Care on 1800 200 422. After a hospital stay, ask the assessor about the Restorative Care Pathway, a short allied-health-led block suited to setting up safe transfers. SESI offers Support at Home services across Victoria.

From 1 October 2026 the NDIA is tightening some Capacity Building budgets, including Improved Daily Living. A specific request (“carer training for safe transfers after a fall”) is stronger than “more therapy”.

Where can carers get support beyond training?

From Carer Gateway, the Australian Government’s free service for carers. Call 1800 422 737, Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm. It offers coaching, counselling, peer support groups, online carer skills courses and planned or emergency respite. It does not matter whether the person you care for is on the NDIS, in aged care or neither.

If transfers are becoming too much, that is information, not failure. Options include a support worker at the hardest transfer times, a hoist, or respite. SESI’s Support Coordination can pull these together, by phone and video Australia-wide.

Frequently asked questions

Talk to SESI

If you are lifting someone at home and it is starting to hurt, tell us. We can arrange an OT or physiotherapist to visit you in Victoria and set up safe transfers with you.

Tell us what’s going on: sesi.com.au/referral · Call: 1800 017 374

This guide is general information based on WorkSafe Victoria and Safe Work Australia manual handling guidance, NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2026–27, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing Support at Home information and Carer Gateway resources current at September 2026. It is not advice about your individual plan, and it is not manual handling training — please be shown in person. Contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110 or My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.