Queensland’s workplace safety regulator is concluding a six-week compliance campaign targeting the manufacturing sector this month — and businesses that have not yet reviewed their moving plant safety controls may find themselves in the firing line.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) launched the manufacturing sector compliance campaign in April 2026, with inspectors visiting manufacturing sites across the state to assess how moving plant hazards are being managed. The campaign runs through to the end of June as part of WHSQ’s Proactive Compliance Program 2024–2027.
Why moving plant?
Moving plant — including forklifts, conveyors, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), cranes, and other powered equipment that travels or moves through the workplace — remains one of the most significant causes of serious injury and death in Australian manufacturing. Workers struck by, caught in, or run over by moving plant account for a disproportionate share of manufacturing fatalities. The risks are compounded in environments where plant and pedestrians share the same floor space, visibility is limited, or safety systems are inadequate or have degraded over time.
What inspectors are assessing
WHSQ inspectors visiting manufacturing sites during the campaign are assessing whether moving plant has been formally risk assessed, whether pedestrian and plant traffic are adequately separated, the adequacy of operator training and competency records, whether plant is being regularly inspected and maintained, the effectiveness of guarding, speed controls, and warning systems, and whether pre-start checks and safe operating procedures are in place. Where serious breaches are identified, WHSQ has the power to issue compliance notices, improvement notices, or financial penalties on the spot.
A reminder for all manufacturers
While the formal campaign period is drawing to a close, the risk it highlights does not end with it. WHSQ’s enforcement activity in manufacturing is ongoing, and the regulator’s Proactive Compliance Program means that follow-up visits and targeted inspections will continue across the sector. The obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) require PCBUs to eliminate or minimise moving plant risks so far as is reasonably practicable, and to ensure the systems of work, training, and plant maintenance needed to deliver that outcome are genuinely in place.
Key steps for manufacturers
WHSQ recommends that manufacturing businesses review and update risk assessments for all moving plant, audit pedestrian and plant traffic separation arrangements, verify that operator competency records are current, confirm that inspection and maintenance programs are being followed, and ensure all workers who operate near moving plant have received appropriate training and understand the site’s traffic management plan. Further resources are available from the WorkSafe Queensland website.
