What is the name of the government act that controls health and safety in the workplace in New Zealand?

Some of the key changes under the HSW Act: 

• Worker engagement and participation
• Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs)
• The duty of officers
• Volunteer workers
• Stronger penalties 
• Definition of workplace
• Duty of PCBUs who manage and control a workplace

The PCBU or 'person conducting a business or undertaking' is one of the key terms introduced in the new Act. Despite the name the PCBU is not necessarily one person. In most cases a PCBU will refer to a business entity, such as company or organisation. A PCBU may also be an individual in the case of someone running their own business. For example a builder operating as a sole trader will be a PCBU. 

You can view these changes in more detail on WorkSafe New Zealand’s website, or get an understanding of your legal responsibilities we’ve made a fictional small business example available here. 

The main act for the management of health and safety in the workplace is the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA).

View the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Requirements under the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015

The purpose of the HSWA is to provide for a balanced framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces. It achieves this by:

• Protecting workers and other persons against harm to their health, safety and welfare by eliminating or minimising risks
• Providing for fair and effective workplace representation, consultation, co-operation and resolution of issues
• Providing a framework for continuous improvement and progressively higher standards of work health and safety

The HSWA focuses on proactively identifying and managing risks so everyone is safe and healthy.

The coverage is broad, and the HSWA imposes duties on a wide range of working relationships in nearly all workplaces. A person may have duties under more than one section of the HSWA, and a duty may apply to more than one person at one time.

The HSWA is supported by regulations, guidelines and codes of practice, which control specific health and safety issues.

There is other legislation that may impact on the health and safety in the workplace that still apply, such as the Gas Act 1992, the Building Act 1991 and the Electricity Act 1992. There may be some overlap with the HSWA. In these situations the requirements of both will need to be complied with. Usually, by meeting the requirements of one Act, the health and safety requirements would also be met.

The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO Act) places controls on hazardous substances and new organisms and also applies to the University.

Workplace

As defined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015:
A workplace:

• Means a place where work is being carried out, or is customarily carried out, for a business or undertaking
• Includes any place where a worker goes, or is likely to be, while at work

Place includes:

• A vehicle, vessel, aircraft, ship, or other mobile structure
• Any waters and any installation on land, on the bed of any waters, or floating on any waters

Duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

The University of Otago

The HSWA requires the university, as a PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) a primary duty to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of its workers which includes:

• Providing and maintaining a work environment that is without risks to health and safety
• Providing and maintaining safe plant and structures
• Providing and maintaining safe systems of work
• Ensuring the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures and substances
• Providing adequate facilities for the welfare at work of workers in carrying out work for the business or undertaking, including ensuring access to those facilities
• Providing any information, training, instruction, or supervision that is necessary to protect all people from risks to their health and safety arising from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking
• Monitoring the health of workers and the conditions at the workplace for the purpose of preventing injury or illness of workers arising from the conduct of the business or undertaking

University of Otago Workers

The HSWA also places duties on workers to:

• Take reasonable care of their own health and safety,
• Take reasonable care that what they do or don’t do doesn’t adversely affect the health and safety of others,
• Cooperate with any reasonable policies or procedures the business or undertaking has in place on how to work in a safe and healthy way
• Comply with any reasonable instruction given by the business or undertaking so that they can comply with HSWA and the regulations

Other duties are also defined for officers, volunteers and other persons at the workplace.

The Stakeholder Reference Group for the Health and Safety at Work Strategy comprises key system stakeholders, including relevant agencies. It:

• oversees implementation of the Strategy, and the performance of the health and safety system as a whole, and
• provides advice to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety on potential system-level areas for focus and better strategic coordination.

WorkSafe is the primary regulator for New Zealand’s health and safety at work system.  WorkSafe’s  collaboration functions, set out in the WorkSafe New Zealand Act 2013, include:

• promoting and co-ordinating the implementation of work health and safety initiatives by establishing partnerships or collaborating with other agencies
• fostering a co-operative and consultative relationship with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

WorkSafe has published a Regulatory Relationships Policy(external link), which sets out the approach WorkSafe takes to formalising the terms of regulatory relationships with designated and regulatory agencies involved in the work-related health and safety system, including sharing and providing information.

Regulated parties and main stakeholders

Regulated parties include persons conducting a business or undertaking, officers, workers, and other persons at a workplace.  Everyone involved in a business or undertaking has responsibilities for health and safety at work.

For key stakeholders, see diagram above.

Processes for engagement with regulated parties and stakeholders

The Stakeholder Reference Group, which is overseeing implementation of the Health and Safety Strategy, comprises key system stakeholders.

As part of good regulatory stewardship practice in system design and implementation:

• MBIE engages with interested regulated parties and stakeholders when identifying regulatory issues and developing regulatory proposals, and must publicly consult on all regulatory proposals on behalf of the Minister, under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
• MBIE will release exposure drafts of legislation for consultation, particularly for technical regulations or where they affect a wide range of stakeholders.
• MBIE has regular meetings with the social partners - the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and Business New Zealand.
• WorkSafe has consultation requirements when developing Safe Work Instruments and Approved Codes of Practice under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
• WorkSafe engages with a range of stakeholders to improve health and safety across the system, including engaging with relevant businesses, unions and worker representatives, sector leadership groups, iwi, specialist health and safety advisors, academic experts and other government and New Zealand and international regulatory bodies when undertaking major projects.

System’s fitness for purpose

Effectiveness

System has some issues against criteria

As significant reforms are still underway, it is too early to say if they are having the desired impact on work cultures and health and safety practices.

Result 9 Better for Business 2016 survey indicated the impacts of the regulatory changes were being felt by businesses as they adjust to the new requirements. WorkSafe has a well-developed work programme to promote effective implementation and stakeholder participation in implementation design.

Efficiency

System has some issues against criteria

WorkSafe New Zealand was established in December 2013. Worksafe’s funding was increased in 2017 to maintain its capacity to improve health and safety,  as well as funding for improved health and safety capacity for Maritime NZ and the Civil Aviation Authority, as the health and safety regulators for their respective sectors.

A comprehensive evaluation plan is in place which will guide assessment of system effectiveness.

Resilience

System performing well against criteria

The system has just been reformed to reflect modern working practices and address gaps in the system. It is outcomes-based and set up well to be enduring over time. A comprehensive evaluation plan is in place to inform ongoing improvements, as will the Health and Safety at Work Strategy.

Fairness and accountability

System performing well against criteria

Information about the system is widely disseminated through a variety of channels including WorkSafe and our websites and stakeholder outreach and by key stakeholders and feedback about the quality of guidance is generally positive. Contact with key stakeholders is very regular and built into regulatory policy and design processes.