Background

New Zealand’s work health and safety system encompasses:

• the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (the Act);
• Its supporting regulations, safe work instruments, standards, approved codes of practice, and guidance that sits under the Act;
• Regulators that implement the law and support people to comply through engagement, enforcement, and standard setting; and
• People and organisations authorised by the regulator or regulations to certify or licence businesses for high-risk work and activities.

It has been 10 years since passage of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Although New Zealand’s work health and safety law is adapted from the Australian law, New Zealand’s work health and safety record remains worse than Australia's and has been slow to improve. Government has heard that businesses are struggling to understand their work health and safety obligations, and are unsure how to comply, which creates risks for workers.

The Coalition Agreement between ACT and the National Party committed to reforming work health and safety law and regulations. The work health and safety system needs to be clear, sensible, proportionate, and effective. The steps businesses and workers take to protect worker health and safety should be appropriate and meaningful, rather than a tick-box exercise. Businesses and organisations should be focused on addressing the things that are causing workers harm, rather than being caught up in unnecessary compliance or trying to interpret and navigate complex and unclear rules and regulations.

To better understand where to best focus efforts for addressing these issues, the Minister led a Government consultation to seek feedback from New Zealanders of all backgrounds on what the role for government should be in the work health and safety system, what is working well, and where improvements can be made. This consultation is needed to inform policy options and decisions on the reform of the work health and safety system.

Roadshows and site visits

To support this work, the Minister undertook a series of roadshow meetings and site visits, inviting discussion and feedback on the performance of the work health and safety regulatory system.

The Minister visited 11 towns and cities, attending 23 meetings and 15 site visits across the country between June and October 2024. During these meetings and site visits, the Minister was able to hear from over 600 people representing a range of stakeholders, including business, workers, work health and safety professionals, local government and community organisations.

Public Consultation survey

In May 2024, Cabinet agreed to release a consultation document, Have Your Say on Work Health and Safety, supported by an associated online survey asking New Zealanders about what is working well and what needs to change.

The scope of consultation focussed on the purpose and performance of the work health and safety regulatory system, via a series of questions across the following focus areas:

• Focus area 1: businesses are best placed to understand and manage their risks.
• Focus area 2: the law is designed to balance flexibility and certainty.
• Focus area 3: worker engagement and participation.
• Focus area 4: an effective work health and safety system needs effective regulators.
• Focus area 5: the objective of the work health and safety system.

Number and type of submissions

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