Health & Safety Reform Is Underway

The Government has officially kicked off the first wave of proposed reforms to the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, marking the start of what’s expected to be a wider review. Minister Brooke van Velden confirmed this is just the beginning, with more updates coming over the next few months. Legislation is expected by the end of 2025 and could pass into law early 2026.

The goal is clear — make health and safety simpler, fairer, and more focused on real risks rather than paperwork.

Clarifying responsibilities

One key change is clarifying who’s responsible for what. Directors and boards will take charge of governance and strategy, while managers oversee day-to-day health and safety. That distinction aims to clear up confusion that’s lingered since the Maritime NZ v Gibson case.

Relief for small, low-risk businesses

Small, low-risk businesses might also see some relief. The Government’s proposing a carve-out so they only need to manage critical risks — those that could cause serious harm — rather than every obligation under the current law. Basic safety standards like first aid and emergency plans would still apply.

Reducing over-compliance

There’s also a move to cut down “tick-box” compliance and overlapping requirements, limiting mandatory reporting to serious incidents only. WorkSafe has even been directed to issue new guidance on “over-compliance”, including the much-talked-about overuse of road cones.

These reforms are aimed at reducing burden and improving focus, but some say they don’t go far enough. New Zealand’s workplace fatality rate is still well above those in Australia and the UK, and in 2023 alone, preventable workplace harm cost an estimated .9 billion.

This first step signals progress, but the real test will be whether these reforms deliver safer workplaces, not just simpler rules.