The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill is the most significant reform to New Zealand's health and safety regulatory framework since the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (“the Act”) came into force.
The Bill aims to reduce compliance costs, increase certainty for businesses, and support continued reductions in workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses, through:
Refocusing the Act's Purpose – Prioritising critical risks over all risks, aiming to prevent serious harm.
Creating Safe Harbours – Small PCBUs (a person conducting a business or undertaking of under 20 workers) will only need to manage critical risks, with limited exceptions.
Streamlining Compliance – Compliance with equivalent risk management duties under other legislation will count as compliance under the Act.
Clarifying Landowner Duties – Landowners generally won't owe duties under the Act for recreational land use (unless work-related).
Refining Officer Duties – Clarifies officer due diligence to focus on governance, provides an exhaustive list of duties, and specifies duties for those holding multiple roles.
Expanding Notification Requirements – Broadens definitions and provides clear examples for serious workplace event notifications.
Strengthening Approved Codes of Practice (“ACOP”) – Simplifies ACOP development and grants 'safe harbour' status for compliance with new ACOPs.
Refocusing Regulator Functions – Directs WorkSafe and other regulators to prioritise core activities like guidance, ACOP development, and monitoring/enforcement.
Refocusing the Act's Purpose on Critical Risk
The Bill replaces the Act’s purpose provision with a new framework. The new "main purpose" explicitly prioritises critical risks arising from work, representing a shift from treating all risks equally to focusing resources on the most serious hazards.
Additionally, a new purpose has been added: “to give PCBUs certainty about the scope of their obligations”. This reflects a key objective of the Bill to “increase certainty for businesses and organisations about what they need to do”. Other changes to the section are modifications or extensions of existing purposes.
Defining and Prioritising Critical Risk
Central to the reforms is the introduction of a new defined term "critical risk", which is defined as a risk associated with either:
When determining if a risk is critical, a PCBU must assess what it knows, or ought reasonably to know, about its business or undertaking, the hazard, and whether it is likely to result in specified serious consequences.
A PCBU's failure to prioritise critical risks is not a standalone offence. However, a failure to prioritise critical risks might still form part of a prosecution case against a PCBU charged with breaching general duties under the Act.
Safe Harbours for Small Businesses
The Bill creates a new category of "small PCBU", defined as a PCBU with fewer than 20 workers (or reasonably expected to have fewer than 20 workers for 9 of 12 months).
Except in respect of the duty to provide adequate facilities for the welfare of workers, small PCBUs will be required to discharge certain duties only for critical risks. This applies to duties including (among others): the primary duty of care, the duty of PCBUs to ensure “so far as is reasonably practicable” that the workplace is without health and safety risks, and certain duties under regulations such as ensuring personal protective equipment is worn or used. This means for instance, that a small PCBU will only be required to ensure (so far as is reasonably practicable) that the workplace is without critical risks to health and safety, and that personal protective equipment is used to minimise critical risks.
While small PCBUs focus only on critical risks, all other PCBUs manage all risks but must prioritise critical risks. This aims to reduce the compliance burden for smaller entities.
Deemed Compliance with Other Enactments
The Bill addresses duplication between the Act and other regulatory systems. Where a person is subject to both a duty under the Act to manage a specified risk and requirements under another enactment for the same subject matter, compliance with the other enactment's requirements is deemed compliance with the corresponding duty under the Act. The exception is if there are specific regulations that impose additional duties for that risk. In such circumstances, those additional duties will need to be complied with.
This confirms that the Act is focused on work-related health and safety and not on public health or public safety generally. While questions may arise about what constitutes "the same subject matter," this proposal will be welcomed by PCBUs with sector-specific regulatory requirements.
Clarifying Duties for Landowners and Seismic Risk
The Bill attempts to address past confusion about landowner liability for persons injured on their land during recreational activities. The Act will be amended so landowners who manage or control a workplace are not responsible in such circumstances, unless the activity is connected to the PCBU’s work, or work is occurring concurrently. Responsibility will shift to the organisation running the activity. This change applies to public and private land (e.g. farms, school grounds, and parks). The scope of the exception is not yet clear. There are undefined terms such as what “connected to” means, and the change has not been applied to section 36 which carries a general duty in relation to managing risks to “other persons”.
The Bill also addresses seismic risk. Where a PCBU manages a workplace in a building, if the owner complies with the Building Act 2004, the duty under section 37 to ensure (so far as is reasonably practicable) that the workplace is without health and safety risks, does not require the PCBU to take further action on seismic risk (i.e. directing evacuation), unless an emergency is occurring. This addresses uncertainty for landlords and tenants on how the Act and the Building Act interact regarding seismic issues.
Strengthening Governance: Due Diligence for Officers
Section 44 of the Act requires an officer of a PCBU to exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU complies with its duties or obligations. The Bill makes key changes to section 44. The Bill clarifies that if an individual holds both an officer role and a separate worker role, their duty under section 44 applies only to their officer role. Actions in other capacities are subject to the less onerous worker duty under section 45.
The Bill also replaces the current definition of due diligence in section 44, with an exhaustive list of required “reasonable steps” to:
Officers must take these reasonable steps to ensure the PCBU prioritises critical risks. This aims to remove ambiguity, as the current list of steps in the Act is not exhaustive.
Notification Requirements
Under the Act, PCBUs must notify the regulator of serious workplace events. The Bill expands definitions and adds clear examples (e.g. serious head, burn, and spinal injuries) to clarify when notification thresholds are met.
Increased Focus on Approved Codes of Practice (“ACOP”)
ACOPs are guidance documents that provide practical advice on how to comply with health and safety requirements. ACOPs will remain non-binding, meaning a person can demonstrate compliance with the Act through other means. However, the Bill strengthens the role of ACOPs through deemed compliance. If a person complies with an ACOP they will be taken to have complied with the Act and regulations for the relevant risk. Upon commencement, these provisions will apply to only two existing ACOPs:
1. Loading and Unloading Cargo at Ports and on Ships 2024; and
2. Safe Practice for Forestry and Harvesting Operations 2025.
Other ACOPs will retain their current status (as evidence of compliance only) until reviewed and reapproved.
The Bill will also make it easier to develop ACOPs. It authorises any person or organisation (e.g. regulators, workers, employers and industry representatives) to propose a draft ACOP or amendment. The regulator may then review, amend, and recommend these to the Minister for approval.
Refocusing Regulator Functions
The Bill amends the statutory functions of WorkSafe New Zealand and designated regulators (e.g. Maritime New Zealand). These amendments explicitly prioritise core regulatory activities, describing their main functions as: providing guidance and advice; developing and reviewing ACOPs and safe work instruments; and monitoring and enforcing compliance.
Next Steps
The Bill is expected to be enacted before the 2026 election. PCBUs can begin preparing now by ensuring risks that fall within the new definition of “critical risk” are identified and prioritised, and by considering opportunities to develop industry-specific ACOPs.
If you would like further information on the Bill and its application, please contact Managing Director, Brigitte Morten.
