We are pleased to present our updated Health and Safety Toolkit, compiled to assist organisations in keeping workers and others safe.
The Health and Safety at Work Act’s focus on requiring organisations to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure the health and safety of workers and others is sufficiently flexible to address all manner of risks in a workplace.
Health and safety in New Zealand has advanced significantly since we prepared our original toolkit in 2016. However, the level of harm in New Zealand workplaces remains unacceptably high: per the Worksafe data centre, there were 34,887 (with an average of 2,907 injuries per month) injuries resulting in more than a week away from work between June 2022 and May 2023. Fatalities increased from 60 the previous year to 70 across the same period.
Ensuring healthy and safe workplaces requires more than simple legislative compliance. Leadership and governance that demonstrates a commitment to worker safety and engagement in all aspects is critical. It is clear that the focus needs to shift from purely counting accidents, to genuine shifts in the ways we work to contribute to positive health and safety outcomes. It is only then that we will start to see a significant improvement in New Zealand’s health and safety culture and a decline in the rates of injury. Good health and safety practice is, put simply, good business. It leads to a well-performing business, and a confident and capable workforce achieving great results.
Should you have any questions about your health and safety obligations, our team has experience across a broad range of health and safety matters and is able to assist you.
Read the toolkit
This document contains guidance material and is not legal advice. Data last updated August 2024.
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