Key Health and Safety Consultation Process to Commence: Part 2

Monday November 4, 2024 10:10

In part 1 of this series (August Newsletter), we outlined the reasons and details of the review process of the Health & Safety At Work act 2015.  This review was initiated by the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety – Hon. Brooke Van Velden. 

This review started in August and closes at the end of October 2024.  At this stage there has been no update from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and no real indication from the Government on what changes we can expect to the legislation.

However, we do know the 5 main areas of focus for the review:

• Businesses are best placed to understand and manage their risks.  The Government acknowledges this and wants to hear how businesses and organisations are managing and their experiences.
• Balance of flexibility and certainty. Given the diverse nature of NZ businesses and differing size, legislation needs to be adaptable.
• Worker engagement and participation.  Workers know what is happening in a organisation must be encouraged to play an active part in preventing harm.
• Effective regulators.  Capable, knowledgeable and consistent guidance and enforcement.
• The objective of the work health and safety regulatory system must be clear. To ensure workplaces are safe and the prevention of harm.

NZ businesses and interested parties have been asked to comment on their experiences in particular regarding these five areas and provide this feedback to the Ministry.

We also know the content of the last Health and Safety at Work Strategy (The Strategy) developed by WorkSafe NZ and MBIE. The information and feedback from this, was probably used in part to determine the five key focus areas of the review.

There was a considerable amount of work involving extensive consultation with industry and ongoing testing with key stakeholders. 

It is an extensive document and a link is provided here for those who wish to read it in full:  https://www.mbie.govt.nz/assets/527d9581b3/summary-of-submissions.pdf

“The Strategy” outlines the vision, goals, priorities, actions and measures that will be used to implement the strategy.

If we look at the priorities requiring attention, this should provide a good indication of future changes in H&S legislation:

• Ensure all businesses have proportionate and effective risk management.
• Support businesses with greater needs: high risk sectors and SME’s.
• Support workers with greater needs: Māori and other workers at greatest risk.
• Ensure leaders at all levels prioritise health and safety.
• Enable workers to engage, be represented and participate.
• Improve skills and knowledge in health and safety.

From this it may well be that we can expect changes to the following:

• Businesses will be encouraged to understand, identify  and manage their risk in terms of possible harm to their workers.
• More targeted and better resourced assistance and guidance to high hazard industries and workers with greater needs: Māori and other workers at greatest risk.
• More prescribed requirements to ensure workers are encouraged and enabled to engage, be represented and participate in health and safety at their workplace.
• Provide more opportunities and funding to improve skills and knowledge in health and safety.
• Cutbacks in Head Office staff at WorkSafe NZ have already occurred and funding will be used to strengthen and increase front line inspectors to focus on field operations.
• The Subpart 2, Clause 36 in the HSWA is not well understood and confuses businesses :-  “A PCBU must ensure so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers”.  We can expect this to be changed and perhaps even diluted in its impact on the duties of a PCBU.  Hopefully it will be clearer and more explicit in what is required.
• Finally we can expect a halt to the explosive creation of road traffic management plans and the excessive use of traffic cones. The time/cost involved in placement, recovery and management often exceeding the road works involved.  That health and safety controls are proportionate to the risks, and balancing risks with costs.

If you have any concerns around this topic or other Health & Safety matters, your Securo Consultant is available to help.  We can also advise on hazard management and provide access to professionals for health monitoring services, so please give them a call or alternatively contact Securo head office on 0800 55 33 44.

Parts of the information in this newsletter has been derived from guidance documents published by WorkSafe NZ which are available at www.worksafe.govt.nz, Ministry of Business and Innovation (MBIE) and parts of the Health and Safety At Work Act – 2015.