Transport, postal and warehousing
Key information to provide transport operators and supply chain businesses with practical and tailored work health and safety information relating to working in and around vehicles.
General safety information
Activities performed by businesses in the transport, postal and warehousing industry include:
- transportation of passengers and freight by road, rail, water or air
- support services for passenger and freight transport including stevedoring services, harbour services, navigation services, airport operations and customs agency services
- postal services, pipeline transport and scenic and sightseeing transport
- goods warehousing and storage activities.
Top hazards
Transport is a diverse industry including outdoor work, driving and working with heavy machinery and plant.
And each workplace is different. You need to know what the hazards are in your business so you can assess the risk they pose.
To help you get started, we’ve prepared information on how to identify hazards and manage the risks common to the transport, postal and warehousing industry.
Top injuries
Significantly, this industry has a high rate of injury and fatalities. There are a vast range of activities and workplaces across this industry and each workplace presents its own safety challenges.
Compared to all NSW industries, the transport, postal and warehousing industry has a higher percentage of major claims.
Injuries
Hazardous manual tasks is the most frequent cause of claims, accounting for approximately 43 per cent of all claims followed by falls, being hit by or hitting objects and vehicle accidents.
For every 1,000 workers in the sector, on average, 41 workers sustain a workplace injury or disease leading to a claim compared to 28 workers in all industries in NSW.
Fatalities
Transport, postal and warehousing accounted for the largest number of fatalities in NSW between 2003 and 2015.
34 people died in transport, postal and warehousing in the three years between 2012/13 - 2015/16.
The causes of 'non-road' related fatalities within the sector include:
- muscular stress while handling, lifting, carrying or putting down objects
- slips, trips and falls from same level
- falls from heights
- being hit by moving objects
- being trapped between stationary and moving objects
- rollover.
Find out how to manage hazards in our A to Z library of hazards
- Managing road safety – general information about road safety risks and harms
- Road transport and COVID-19 – resources and guidance on how to complete a COVID-19 Safety Plan for your business
- Road safety at your workplace guide (PDF) – NSW Centre for Road Safety
- Legislation – information about health and safety legislation
Safety Around Your Vehicle
Safety Around Your Vehicle (SAYV) is a campaign that focuses on safety principles for high-risk activities performed around trucks and vehicles when the vehicle is not being driven, including:
- loading and unloading of vehicles
- traffic management
- coupling and uncoupling trailers
- vehicle immobilisation
Safety Around Your Vehicle tasks are relevant for all industries and businesses sizes in NSW.
Traffic management guide for truck drivers
The traffic management guide (PDF, 76.41 KB) can help identify traffic management safety issues at sites where you deliver or pick up. If safety issues are identified, please raise them in accordance with your company’s consultation policies and procedures.
Incident Animations
Vehicle Immobilisation
This animation profiles a serious incident that occurred when a heavy vehicle rolled away during the process of coupling a trailer.
Loading Unloading
This animation profiles a serious incident where a driver was struck by a forklift while unloading freight from a heavy vehicle.
Reports
Mental health at work
Visit Mental Health at Work for a range of free tools, programs and resources, including:
- the regional resource kit – provides tailored advice and resources for regional businesses to promote, manage and support mental health at work.
- free training and coaching – easy-to-do programs businesses can use to support mental health in the workplace.
Other resources include:
Food delivery industry
The food delivery industry involves the ordering and delivery of food and drinks from restaurants, cafes, kitchens, service stations and other food providers, to members of the public by workers who transport food using a car, bicycle, motor scooter or motorbike.
Find information and resources below.
- Food delivery industry – general information and resources
- Keeping delivery drivers safe – a fact sheet about safety
Resources and safety alerts
We have a wide range of technical, business, management and support services to help you make your business safer.
- The Safety around your vehicle self-assessment checklist (PDF, 166.32 KB) is designed to support businesses to assess the safety risks and hazards at their workplace relating to planning and reporting, traffic management, loading and unloading, as well as vehicle immobilisation.
- Mental health at work (transport) poster (PDF, 152.26 KB)
- NOBODY is Built for Impact posters (PDF, 535.62 KB)
- Guide for unpacking shipping containers
- Safety support
- Advisory visits, workshops and rebates
- Building a health and safety culture
- Consultation @ work
- Our safety starts here webpage has a range of essential resources, including:
- business must haves like emergency plans and first aid
- the basics for physical safety at work
- Resource and hazard libraries for information and codes of practice
- Incident Information Releases on serious transport incidents and safety information
- The Healthy Older Worker Toolkit (PDF) – Centre for Work Health and Safety
- Guidelines for Safe Collaborative Robot Design and Implementation – Centre for Work Health and Safety
- Unpacking shipping containers
- Falls from flatbed trucks and trailers
- Working safely around forklifts
- Working with split rims
- Getting in and out of a prime mover safely
- Getting in and out of a truck cab safely
- Loading pallets onto a truck tray safely
- Unloading pallets from a truck tray safely
- Moving around safely during loading and unloading
- Uncontrolled movement of vehicles
- Recall of unsafe gas filters which can be attached to shigematsu respirator masks used in workplaces
- Removal of unsafe emergency escape breathing devices from vehicles and workplaces
- Unpacking glass sheets
- Hydraulic equipment and systems - hazards and safe practices for operation and maintenance
- Working with sheet materials
- Using towing trailers incorrectly
- Using cheater bars on dogs is dangerous
- Working with or around mobile plant
- Switchloading transferring flammable liquids
- Working with sheet materials
- Immobilising heavy vehicles and trailers
Safety initiatives
- Get Healthy at Work – A free program for all businesses in NSW.
- Be truck aware – see what happened when experienced car drivers sat in the truck driver’s seat.
Your industry
Air transport organisations
- Association for Virgin Australia Group Pilots (VIPA)
- Australian and International Pilots Association (Qantas group) (AIPA)
- Australian Federation of Air Pilots (general commercial) (AFAP)
- Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA)
- Civil Air Operations Officers’ Association of Australia (Civil Air)
- Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia (FAAA)
Stevedoring and maritime organisations
Land transport organisations
- Australian Road and Transport Industrial Organisation NSW (ARTIO NSW)
- Bus and Coach Association NSW (BUS NSW)
- Rail, Tram and Bus Union
- Transport Workers Union (TWU)
- The SDA NSW represents workers in the warehousing sector
Subscribe to industry publications and join your industry group. For workers across the industry, the Australian Services Union (ASU) and the United Services Union (USUS) offer support and representation organisation.