Manutention is the French word meaning 'handling' and in Australia it is used to describe an approach to manual tasks training which teaches people skills which protect the body from injury when handling people, animals or things. The Method was developed by a French Physiotherapist, Paul Dotte. It has a strong biomechanical basis enhanced by the study of human movement, martial arts, weightlifting, and abseiling.

Three key people were instrumental in the development of Manutention:

• Paul Dotte, a French physiotherapist with training in martial arts. As a young man he hurt his own back and thought, “If I can hurt myself, what chance do ordinary people have?” He then set out on a life-long pursuit of an effective way to teach safe ways to move people.
• Richard Chaput, a world-class trainer of weightlifting whose principles are still evident in weightlifting circles today, helped develop the industrial / loads handling.
• Max Abric, an Occupational Therapist, developed the aged care component, as well as many useful pieces of equipment such as the Gerimax belt.

AAMP was established as a result of the significant positive impact on the participants who attended the training. In Australia today Manutention courses are aligned with Work Health and Safety Legislation and mapped to the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) guidelines.