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Survey on Proposed Changes to the Health and Safety at Work Act for New Zealand Construction Businesses

Thank you for participating in our survey. This information will be used to inform our response to the Health and Safety at Work Act Amendment Bill. Survey results will be published on the CHASNZ website by the end of February 2026.

A brief summary of the Bill can be found below and a link to the Bill here :

The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill 2026 amends the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the WorkSafe New Zealand Act 2013, and related regulations. The Bill’s central aim is to refocus New Zealand’s health and safety system on preventing serious harm (“critical risks”), while reducing unnecessary compliance and increasing certainty for businesses

Critical risks
A new statutory definition of critical risk is introduced. Critical risks are defined as those associated with:
specified high-hazard activities listed in a new Schedule 1A; or
hazards likely to result in death, notifiable injury or illness, notifiable incidents, or occupational disease.

Different obligations for small PCBUs
A new category of small PCBU is created: a business with fewer than 20 workers for most of the year.
Small PCBUs are required to manage only critical risks for most duties.
They must still fully meet worker welfare obligations (e.g. facilities, first aid).
They must prioritise critical risks, but failure to prioritise is not itself an offence
All other PCBUs must continue to manage all risks but are now required to explicitly prioritise critical risks.

Overlapping legislation

Where a PCBU complies with requirements under another enactment that manages the same risk (for example, maritime or building safety law), they are treated as having complied with the equivalent duty under the HSW Act.

Recreational access to land

Landowners and occupiers are not responsible for health and safety risks to people using land for recreational purposes, unless:

· the recreational activity is connected to the PCBU’s work; or

· work is occurring at the same time and place.

Officer duties

· officers’ duties are governance duties only, not operational (but the definition of an officer remains unchanged);

· where an individual holds both officer and worker roles, the officer duty applies only to their governance role; and

· the due‑diligence obligations are set out as a list.

Stronger role for Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs)

· Industry bodies and others may now develop draft ACOPs (subject to regulator review).

· Compliance with an approved ACOP creates a “safe harbour”, meaning the duty is deemed met for that risk.

· Only the two most recent ACOPs (ports cargo handling 2024; forestry operations 2025) immediately receive this status; others must be reviewed and reapproved.

Refocused regulator priorities

WorkSafe and other designated regulators are required to prioritise:

· guidance and advice,

· codes of practice,

· safe work instruments, and

· monitoring and enforcement.
1.Which part of the construction industry do you work in?
2.What is the size of your organisation?
3.How well do you think the Bill's focus on critical risks will improve safety in the construction industry?
4.Do you believe the Bill will reduce unnecessary safety compliance work and refocus attention on key hazards?
5.Which areas do you think might receive less focus under the Bill? Select all that apply.
6.Do you think the Bill will result in less or more consistency across construction sites?
7.How effective do you think Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) will be in maintaining safety standards?
8.Do you believe that clarifying overlaps with other regimes (such as the building act) will reduce regulatory gaps?
9.Do you believe that construction sites will be safer because other regimes (such as the building act) will now replace duties under the health and safety at work act?
10.Do you think narrowing officer duties to governance only will impact accountability?
11.Do you think that the proposed Bill simplifies health and safety for the majority of the industry (small construction businesses)?
12.Please provide any additional feedback on the Bill.