The Health & Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) places a Primary Duty of Care on business owners so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure:

• The health and safety of workers who work for the business while they are work in the business.
• The health and safety of workers whose activities in carrying out work are influenced or directed by the business owner while they are carrying out the work
• That the health and safety of other persons is not put at risk from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business.

Plan for the health and safety of employees, contractors, sub-contractors, visitors, customers, and people whose health and safety could be affected by the organisations work.

Business owners MUST so far as reasonably practicable:

• Provide and maintain a work environment, plant, structures, and systems of work that are without risk to health and safety
• Ensure the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures, and substances.
• Provide adequate facilities at work for the welfare of workers, including ensuring access to those facilities
• Provide information, training, instruction, or supervision necessary to protect workers and others from risks to their health and safety.
• Monitor the health of workers and the exposures at the workplace for the purpose of determining the effectives of control measure.

To keep people safe the Company must:

• Consult with employees on health and safety matters that affect them and provide adequate facilities, training, information, instruction, and supervision.
• Duty to identify hazards – A PCBU, in managing risks to health and safety, must identify hazards that could give rise to reasonably foreseeable risks to health and safety.
• Duty to maintain effective control measures, Duty to review control measures.
• Ensure all plant, machinery, motor vehicles, and other work tools and equipment are suitable for their intended purposes and are regularly maintained to meet safety requirements.
• Ensure contractors are made aware of their responsibilities and our safety procedures when carrying out work on behalf of the company.
• Commit to having the appropriate training and accountability for all staff including management.
• Support the safe and early return to work of injured employees.
• Ensure Managers have a responsibility to ensure safe and healthy work environments are achieved and maintained.
• Ensure the health of workers (and conditions) at the workplace are closely monitored for the purpose of preventing long term injury or illness of workers arising from prolonged. exposure work activities. Such as: Duties relating to exposure monitoring and health monitoring. Substances hazardous to health.
• Set measurable Health and Safety objectives and targets for continued improvement.
• Allocate adequate resources to fulfil the aims of the company Health and Safety Policy.
• Conduct regular “System Verification” audits to review the effectiveness of the Health & Safety management system.

• Comprehensive assessments to identify, evaluate, and mitigate workplace hazards.

• Take reasonable care for his or her own health and safety.
• Take reasonable care that his or her acts or omissions do not adversely affect the Health and Safety of other persons.
• Comply with any reasonable instructions that is given by the company to allow the company to comply with the HSWA (ACT) 2015 and regulations.
• Co-operate with any reasonable policy of the company relating to the health or safety at the workplace that has been notified to workers/employees.

We encourage our clients to review the Worksafe New Zealand website and use it for ongoing guidance and support. Please also subscribe for updates and news from Worksafe.
http://www.worksafe.govt.nz/worksafe/about/subscribe

Worksafe NZ Vision:
Everyone who goes to work comes home healthy and safe.

Legislation:
There are a number of Acts and Regulations that relate to the functions of WorkSafe.

• Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA)
• Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO) reprint 2017
• WorkSafe New Zealand Act 2013
• Mines Rescue Act 2013
• Crown Entities Act 2004
• Electricity Act 1992
• Gas Act 1992.