The event is is focused around the theme "Watch out for your mates".

Forklift industry body the Australian Industrial Truck Association (AITA) will sponsor a forklift safety week to be held from 21 to 25 March this year.

The inaugural event is supported by the association's 15 full members.

President Steve Stewart says the new initiative demonstrates the AITA's commitment to forklift safety and is focused around the theme "Watch out for your mates".

The week will be promoted via safety message posters that can be positioned in warehouses and other high-traffic forklift areas, stickers that members will affix to forklifts being delivered and rented during the nominated week, as well as links on members' websites promoting the event and directing people to locations where additional posters and stickers are available, if required.

"We are extremely excited about this campaign designed to help reduce accidents involving forklifts in the workplace and plan to make this an annual event so that the suppliers of materials handling equipment in Australia can make a positive contribution to the safety of all employees working with, or around, lift trucks every day," says Stewart.