The WA Commission for Occupational Safety and Health has the responsibility to recommend the adoption of standards and new codes of practice, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 .
On 22 August 2007, the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ACCC) declared The National Standard for Manual Tasks (2007) and the National Code of Practice for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders from Performing Manual Tasks at Work (2007).
For these national initiatives to apply to WA workplaces covered by the WA OSH Act they must be recommended for adoption by the WA Commission under the WA Act.
The Commission has yet to make a decision on how it should adopt the national standard. Until a decision is made and any new code or standard is adopted, the WA Code of Practice for Manual Handling remains the primary guidance material for manual handling hazards in WA.