The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 is now nearly 10 years old. It’s timely to assess how well the work health and safety system is working.
What is a regulatory system?
Regulation isn’t just about the law. Parliament passes laws, but to achieve Parliament’s intended outcomes, government agencies and other organisations need to deliver services and make sure people follow the rules. The laws, rules, agencies, organisations, and their practices are collectively known as a ‘regulatory system’.
The work health and safety regulatory system is made up of the:
Text description of infographic
The infographic shows the key components of the work health and safety regulatory system. In the centre is a diagram showing the duty holders. On the left-hand side is a pyramid diagram showing the different elements of work health and safety law. On the right-hand side is a diagram showing parties with regulatory functions. An arrow is pointing from the law diagram to the duty holders diagram, and from the regulatory functions diagram to the duty holders diagram. This shows the centrality of duty holders in the regulatory system.
Law
The key components of the law are shown in a pyramid with 5 levels. Starting at the top of the pyramid and going down each level, the components are:
The diagram shows that the Health and Safety at Work Act, regulations, and safe work instruments are mandatory.
The diagram also shows that the approved codes of practice and guidance, standards, and information can be used in court as evidence of compliance.
The purpose of the Health and Safety at Work Act is below the pyramid: To provide for a balanced framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces.
Duty holders
The diagram consists of 4 squares. Starting at the top left and going clockwise, the content of the squares is:
Regulatory functions
This diagram contains the parties with regulatory functions. From top to bottom, they are:
We want to ensure that the work health and safety regulatory system is working as intended. This means that it protects people from harm, in a way that is:
We are seeking people’s feedback on the work health and safety regulatory system.
We want to hear about your experiences with New Zealand’s work health and safety regulatory system, how you think it’s working now, and what you think should change.
Your feedback will inform our advice to Ministers on improvements we could make to the work health and safety system.
Go to the Have Your Say page on work health and safety to read more about this consultation and how to be involved:
Cabinet paper seeking approval to consult on areas for work health and safety reform.
