Minister’s foreword
All workers and their families deserve to have confidence that they will return home safe. Businesses also know the costs – both personal and financial – of workplace incidents, and the difficulties of attracting and keeping workers in risky sectors.
On this page
New Zealand’s poorly performing health and safety system could be costing this country billions, and can have a devastating personal impact on workers and their families if a worker is harmed.
The Coalition Agreement between the National Party and ACT committed to reforming health and safety law and regulations. An effective health and safety system will support this Government’s objective of lifting New Zealand’s productivity and economic growth.
Workers, organisations, and businesses spend a lot of time and money trying to comply with health and safety rules and regulations, yet New Zealand’s workplace fatality rate is far too high compared with countries like Australia and the United Kingdom. While some people complain about too much health and safety regulation, others may point to New Zealand’s dismal statistics and complain there is not enough, and others still may complain that the entire system encourages or focuses on the wrong behaviour.
It is clear the current approach to health and safety is not achieving the results most New Zealanders would expect. The Health and Safety at Work Act is now almost ten years old, and I think now is an appropriate time to take a step back and look at what’s working and what needs to change.
The health and safety system needs to be clear, sensible, proportionate, and effective. The steps businesses and workers take to protect health and safety should be considered appropriate and meaningful, rather than just another tick-box exercise. I want to make sure businesses and organisations are focused on addressing the things that are causing workers harm, rather than being caught up in unnecessary compliance or trying to interpret and navigate complex or perplexing rules and regulations.
I want to hear from New Zealanders of all backgrounds so I can better understand where to best focus efforts for improvement. I want to know what New Zealanders think the role for government should be in the health and safety system, what government gets right, and where government is going badly wrong.
Of course, the health and safety system is bigger than just government: in fact, the main players are businesses, organisations, and workers. But it's important that government sets the right framework so that businesses, organisations, and workers alike can thrive and get on with their critical roles in society and the economy.
I strongly encourage you to make a written submission or complete the online submission form. I will also be meeting with stakeholders around the country.
Hon Brooke van Velden
Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety