Changes to NZ workplace safety laws

The new health and safety workplace legislation that becomes law as of 4 April 2016 will see a significant change in the way health and safety is regarded and acted on in New Zealand workplaces.

According to WorkSafe New Zealand, the country’s workplace health and safety record is “woeful”.

The new Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) is part of a reform package aimed at reducing the number of serious work-related injuries and deaths in New Zealand by at least 25% by 2020.

In essence, WorkSafe New Zealand said the new law will mean businesses and workers should no longer be asking, “Do I have a responsibility for workplace health and safety?”, but “What is my responsibility for workplace health and safety?”

HSWA requires businesses to cooperate and coordinate around how they will manage risks collectively, and this includes being clear about the arrangements for doing this and how those arrangements will be monitored.

The Waikato River Authority, the independent authority responsible for protecting New Zealand’s largest river, said the new laws will put greater responsibility on funding organisations like themselves, and the legal advice that it has received indicates a shift in liability for the authority and similar funders.

“While we have always been very conscious of health and safety, the authority has previously regarded those undertaking the project work to have been primarily responsible for work safety,” said authority chief executive Bob Penter.

“Under the new legislation, they continue to have primary responsibility but the authority also has a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of workers completing funded projects.”

With around $15 million of funded work across approximately 100 current projects, he said the authority will now need to go further in ensuring worker safety.

The organisation has begun making changes to its operations and its funding criteria for river clean-up projects as a result of the new law, including current projects not yet completed.

“Project owners need to show us that they meet the required standards around health and safety so that we can continue to make funding available,” said Penter.

For further information and resources to help with health and safety preparedness, go to www.business.govt.nz/worksafe.