Health and Safety at Work Act Coverage
What does the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 cover?
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 is New Zealand's main workplace health and safety law (Public Act 2015 No 70). Its purpose is to protect workers and other people from harm by eliminating or minimising risks arising from work, or from prescribed high-risk plant, "so far as is reasonably practicable." It does this mainly through duties placed on the "person conducting a business or undertaking" (PCBU), its officers, its workers and other people at a workplace, backed by worker participation rights and criminal enforcement [1]. Most of it came into force on 4 April 2016 [2].
Approach: I read the consolidated text of the Act as published by New Zealand's Parliamentary Counsel Office on legislation.govt.nz (as at 5 April 2025). The regulations made under the Act and WorkSafe's approved codes of practice are separate instruments; I didn't review them here.
Purpose (s 3)
Section 3 lists seven aims [1]:
- protecting people from harm caused by work;
- fair worker representation, consultation and issue resolution;
- a constructive role for unions and employer organisations;
- advice, education and training;
- effective enforcement;
- scrutiny of regulators' actions;
- progressively higher standards.
Who and where it applies to
- PCBU: anyone conducting a business or undertaking, whether or not for profit. It excludes:
- people acting solely as workers or officers;
- volunteer associations;
- home occupiers who only engage someone for residential work [3].
- Worker: anyone who does work in any capacity for a PCBU. That includes employees, contractors and subcontractors, labour-hire staff, outworkers, apprentices, work-experience trainees and volunteer workers. Police constables and Armed Forces members count as workers while on duty [4].
- Officer: directors, partners and comparable roles, plus anyone with significant influence over management, such as a chief executive. Ministers acting in that capacity and people who only give advice are excluded [5].
- Workplace: any place where work is carried out, including vehicles, vessels, aircraft and installations on or in water [6].
- Reach:
Structure of the Act
| Part | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Part 1: Health and safety at work | Purpose, application, interpretation, general provisions; for example, insurance against fines is unlawful (s 29) [10] |
| Part 2: Health and safety duties | Key principles, PCBU duties, duties of officers, workers and others, offences, preserving sites and notifying events [11] |
| Part 3: Worker engagement, participation, and representation | Engaging with workers, health and safety representatives and committees, provisional improvement notices, the right to stop unsafe work, protection against adverse or coercive conduct, issue resolution [12] |
| Part 4: Enforcement and other matters | Improvement, prohibition and non-disturbance notices, enforceable undertakings, reviews and appeals, infringement offences, prosecutions, sentencing, inspectors [13] |
| Part 5: Miscellaneous provisions | Administration and funding levy, authorisations, regulations, exemptions, approved codes of practice and safe work instruments, repeals [14][15] |
There are five Schedules:
- Transitional and savings provisions [16]
- Health and safety representatives and committees [17]
- Health and safety in the mining sector [18]
- Classified security information [19]
- Consequential amendments [20]
Core duties
-
Managing risk (s 30): eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable. If that isn't possible, minimise them, to the extent of your ability to influence and control the matter [21].
-
Primary duty of care (s 36): the PCBU must ensure the health and safety of its workers and of workers whose work it influences or directs, and must not put other people at risk. This covers:
- a safe work environment, plant, structures and systems of work;
- safe use, handling and storage of plant, substances and structures;
- welfare facilities;
- information, training, instruction and supervision;
- monitoring of workers' health and workplace conditions;
- accommodation the PCBU provides [11].
-
Upstream duties (relevant for product stewardship): PCBUs that design, manufacture, import or supply plant, substances or structures for workplace use must:
- ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that they are without risks to health and safety;
- carry out or arrange any necessary testing;
- give adequate information on intended purposes, test results (including a substance's hazardous properties) and safe-use conditions.
These are in ss 39-42 [22][23][24][25]. Secondhand plant sold "as is" is exempt from the supplier duty [25]. Further duties apply to:
-
Officers (s 44): must exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU complies. That includes keeping up to date on health and safety, understanding the operations and their hazards, and making sure resources and processes are in place and used [29].
-
Workers (s 45): must take reasonable care for themselves and others, follow reasonable instructions, and co-operate with health and safety policies [30].
-
Engaging with workers (s 58): PCBUs must engage with workers on health and safety matters, so far as is reasonably practicable [31].
Notifiable events
A PCBU must notify the regulator as soon as possible, by the fastest available means, when any of these arises from work (s 56):
- a death;
- a notifiable injury or illness, such as an amputation, serious burn, hospital admission, or medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance;
- a notifiable incident, such as a spill or leak, explosion, or structural collapse.
Sources: [32][33][34][35]. The regulator is WorkSafe or a designated agency [36].
Penalties for breaching a duty (maximum fines)
| Offence | Individual (not PCBU or officer) | Individual PCBU or officer | Any other person (e.g. a company) |
|---|---|---|---|
| s 47 Reckless conduct | 5 years' imprisonment and/or $300,000 | 5 years and/or $600,000 | $3 million |
| s 48 Failure that exposes someone to risk of death or serious injury or illness | $150,000 | $300,000 | $1.5 million |
| s 49 Failure to comply with a duty | $50,000 | $100,000 | $500,000 |
The Act also links to other New Zealand laws. For example, "hazardous substance" takes its meaning from the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, and the "relevant health and safety legislation" includes the Electricity Act 1992 and Gas Act 1992 [40][36].
How is it different from the old 1992 Act?
The 2015 Act repealed the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and replaced its employer–employee model. Duties now sit with any "person conducting a business or undertaking" (PCBU) and cover all workers. Directors and other officers get a new personal due diligence duty, penalties are tiered and higher, and worker participation is much stronger. Section 231 repeals the 1992 Act and the Machinery Act 1950 and revokes three older instruments [41]. According to WorkSafe's guide (p. 9), the new Act is largely based on Australian work health and safety law.
Approach: I read the 2015 Act (consolidated as at 5 April 2025), including its repeal and transitional provisions, plus official Government, MBIE and WorkSafe publications. I couldn't open the text of the 1992 Act on legislation.govt.nz this time. So the description of the old law below comes from the Government's 2013 reform Q&A, which compared the then-current law with the proposed Bill. It is a policy paper, not the statute.
Main differences
| Topic | 1992 Act (as the 2013 Government Q&A describes it) | 2015 Act |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds the duty | Employer–employee relationship | The PCBU must ensure workers' health and safety "so far as is reasonably practicable." "Worker" includes contractors, labour-hire staff, volunteers and others [11][4]. The Q&A says workers are covered "no matter the working relationship (broader than employer-employee)" |
| Directors and officers | Officers were "automatically liable for the failure of a body corporate if they directed, authorised, assented to, acquiesced in, or participated in, the failure" | Each officer has their own duty to exercise due diligence so the PCBU complies (s 44) [29] |
| Upstream duty holders | Not described in the Q&A | Explicit duties on PCBUs that design, manufacture, import, supply, install, construct or commission plant, substances or structures (ss 39-43) [22][25][28] |
| Maximum penalties | About $500,000 and/or 2 years' imprisonment for the offence closest to reckless conduct; $250,000 for conduct that would now fall under the other two tiers | Three tiers: reckless conduct (s 47), failure that exposes someone to a risk of death or serious injury or illness (s 48), and failure to comply with a duty (s 49). The top tier allows up to $3 million for a company, or 5 years' imprisonment and/or $600,000 for an individual PCBU or officer [37][38][39] |
| Enforcement tools | Infringement notices only after a formal warning | Enforceable undertakings are new. The prior-warning requirement for infringement notices was proposed for removal. The courts gain adverse publicity orders and compliance or restoration orders |
| Worker participation | Employee participation systems (s 19C) and site systems in mining (s 19R) [42][43] | A general duty to engage with workers (s 58) [31]. Trained representatives can issue provisional improvement notices (s 69) and direct unsafe work to cease (s 84) [44] |
| Incident reporting | Employers kept a register of accidents and serious harm (s 25) [45] | Notifiable events (deaths, notifiable injuries or illnesses, notifiable incidents) must be reported to the regulator (s 56) [32] |
| Hazardous substances | Workplace controls were under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO) | According to the Q&A, workplace hazardous substance rules moved into the work health and safety framework, enforced by WorkSafe. The EPA keeps substance approval, classification and labelling, safety data sheet and environmental controls under HSNO |
Source for the 1992-era descriptions and the reform proposals: Government reform Q&A, beehive.govt.nz (pp. 2-5).
What carried over from the 1992 regime (Schedule 1)
- Regulations: the Health and Safety in Employment Regulations 1995, the Pipelines Regulations 1999 and the Pressure Equipment, Cranes, and Passenger Ropeways Regulations 1999 are treated as made under the 2015 Act. So are the Amusement Devices Regulations 1978, Lead Process Regulations 1950 and Spray Coating Regulations 1962 [46].
- Approved codes of practice issued under s 20 of the 1992 Act continue in force [47].
- Exemptions that WorkSafe granted under the 1992 regulations continue as if granted under s 220 [48]. Under s 220, exemptions expire after at most 5 years [49].
- Representatives and committees: existing health and safety representatives, committees and participation systems continue. However, a carried-over representative can't issue provisional improvement notices or stop work until they complete the prescribed training [44][50].
- Notices and offences: improvement, prohibition and hazard notices issued under the 1992 Act stay effective [51]. Offences committed under the former Acts can still be investigated and prosecuted under them [52].
- Accident registers kept under s 25 of the 1992 Act had to be retained for 5 years after commencement [45].
Further change coming on 1 April 2027
The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 9 July 2026 and comes into force on 1 April 2027 (MBIE). According to WorkSafe's July 2026 factsheet:
- the Act's main purpose becomes a framework that prioritises managing critical risks;
- PCBUs with fewer than 20 workers will only need to manage critical risks;
- larger PCBUs must still manage all risks but prioritise critical ones;
- some approved codes of practice get "safe harbour" status;
- industry will be able to develop approved codes of practice.
The consolidated text I read (as at 5 April 2025) does not yet include these amendments.
What are the penalties for breaking it?
The Act's heaviest penalties are for breaching a health and safety duty. Reckless conduct (s 47) carries up to 5 years' imprisonment and/or a $600,000 fine for an individual PCBU or officer, and up to $3 million for a company. Fines for the two lower tiers go up to $1.5 million (s 48) and $500,000 (s 49). The Act also creates about 35 smaller offences with fines from $5,000 to $500,000, allows infringement notices, gives the courts extra sentencing orders, and makes insurance against fines unlawful.
Approach: I read every offence, infringement and sentencing provision in the consolidated Act on legislation.govt.nz (as at 5 April 2025). The individual offences and fees set by regulations made under the Act are separate instruments, and I didn't review them here.
1. Breaching a health and safety duty (ss 47-49)
These apply to anyone who has a duty under Part 2, subparts 2 or 3: PCBUs, officers, workers and other people at workplaces.
| Offence | Individual (not a PCBU or officer) | Individual PCBU or officer | Any other person (e.g. a company) |
|---|---|---|---|
| s 47 Reckless conduct: without reasonable excuse, exposing someone to a risk of death or serious injury or illness, while reckless as to that risk | 5 years and/or $300,000 | 5 years and/or $600,000 | $3 million |
| s 48 Failing to comply with a duty in a way that exposes someone to a risk of death or serious injury or illness | $150,000 | $300,000 | $1.5 million |
| s 49 Failing to comply with a duty | $50,000 | $100,000 | $500,000 |
Only s 47 carries imprisonment. If an officer is prosecuted under s 49 for a PCBU duty that sits outside subparts 2-3, the maximum is the individual penalty set by the provision that creates that duty (s 49(3)) [39].
2. Other offences under the Act (maximum fines)
| Offence | Individual | Other person |
|---|---|---|
| Adverse conduct for a health and safety reason (s 90); requesting, inducing or assisting it (s 91); coercion or inducement (s 92); misrepresenting someone's rights under the Act (s 93) | $100,000 | $500,000 |
| Not complying with a prohibition notice (s 107) | $100,000 | $500,000 |
| Arranging or accepting insurance or an indemnity against fines (s 29) | $50,000 | $250,000 |
| Not complying with a provisional improvement notice (s 78), improvement notice (s 103), non-disturbance notice (s 110), enforceable undertaking (s 126) or sentencing order (s 159) | $50,000 | $250,000 |
| Working at a workplace that isn't authorised when regulations require it (s 204) | $50,000 | $250,000 |
| Failing to consult, co-operate and co-ordinate with other PCBUs (s 34), engage with workers (s 58) or have worker participation practices (s 61) | $20,000 | $100,000 |
| Using plant or substances that aren't authorised (s 205); work by an unauthorised person (s 206) or without prescribed qualifications (s 207); breaching authorisation conditions (s 208) | $20,000 | $100,000 |
| Not preserving the site of a notifiable event (s 55); not notifying a notifiable event (s 56) | $10,000 | $50,000 |
| Not assisting an inspector (s 176); hindering an inspector (s 179) or a health and safety medical practitioner (s 187); giving false or misleading information (s 209) | $10,000 | $50,000 |
| Charging workers for health and safety, including making employees supply their own PPE (s 27); not keeping notifiable event records for 5 years (s 57); not starting an HSR election (s 62) or setting up a committee (s 66) on request; not displaying notices or defacing them (ss 76, 117, 118) | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| Not giving an inspector your name and address (s 178); impersonating an inspector (s 180) or a medical practitioner (s 188) | $10,000 (single maximum) |
Sources: [53][54][55][56][57][10][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][31][12][65][66][67][68][69][32][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83]
3. Offences under regulations and infringement notices
- Regulations made under the Act can create their own offences, with fines of up to $50,000. They can also set infringement fees of up to $12,000, and different fees for different offences or kinds of person (s 211, paras (s) and (u)) [84].
- An infringement offence is any offence that regulations declare to be one. The three duty offences in ss 47-49 can never be infringement offences (s 136) [85].
- The regulator can either prosecute or issue an infringement notice (ss 137-138) [86][87].
4. How courts sentence, and orders on top of fines
For offences under ss 47-49, the court applies the Sentencing Act 2002 and must have particular regard to (s 151) [88]:
- the risk and potential for harm;
- whether death or serious injury or illness occurred, or could reasonably have been expected;
- the offender's safety record, including earlier warnings, infringement notices, improvement notices and undertakings;
- how far the offender departed from industry standards (an aggravating factor);
- the offender's financial capacity, to the extent that it would increase the fine.
On conviction for any offence under the Act, the court can also make these orders:
- the regulator's prosecution and investigation costs (s 152) [89];
- adverse publicity orders, requiring the offender to publicise the offence and penalty (s 153) [90];
- restoration orders (s 154) [91];
- work health and safety project orders (s 155) [92];
- court-ordered enforceable undertakings, with the case adjourned for up to 2 years, with or without a conviction recorded (s 156) [93];
- injunctions (s 157) [94];
- training orders (s 158) [95].
Not complying with one of these orders is itself an offence, with fines up to $50,000 for an individual or $250,000 for anyone else. This doesn't apply to court-ordered undertakings or injunctions (s 159) [62].
5. Fines can't be insured
Any insurance policy or indemnity covering a fine or infringement fee under the Act has no effect. Offering, giving or accepting one is an offence (s 29) [10].
I can go through the infringement offences and fees set in the regulations made under the Act next, if that would help.