Implications & Possible Effects that the HSAW Amendment Bill 2026 will have on NZ Industry

Wednesday April 1, 2026 14:09

The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill 2026 (introduced February 2026) aims to reduce compliance costs and clarify regulations in New Zealand by focusing employer duties on "critical risks" (hazards likely to cause death or serious injury).
Key changes include defining "small PCBUs," strengthening Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) as "safe harbours," and amending the HSWA 2015/WorkSafe NZ Act 2013 to prioritise serious harm prevention. 

Key Aspects of the 2026 Amendment Bill

• Focus on Critical Risk: The Bill amends the purpose of the HSWA to prioritize managing "critical risks"—hazards likely to cause death, notifiable illness, or injury, as defined in a new Schedule 1A.
• Small PCBU Definition: Creates a new category for businesses with fewer than 20 workers, specifically directing their compliance focus to critical risks.
• Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs): Strengthens ACOPs to function as "safe harbours," meaning compliance with an ACOP ensures a duty holder has met their obligations for that risk, particularly critical risks.
• Reduced Compliance & Clarity: Seeks to reduce "tick-box" compliance and clarify overlapping duties between PCBUs (e.g., in construction).
• Regulator Focus: Aligns WorkSafe New Zealand's objectives to focus on how businesses manage critical risks. 

Timeline & Status

• First Reading: Passed on February 12, 2026.
• Submissions: Public submissions closed on March 18, 2026.
• Report Due: The Select Committee is due to report on June 12, 2026. 

Note: The Bill is currently under review by the Education and Workforce Committee. 

 The two key points of these changes are:

FOCUS ON CRITICAL RISK:

 “Critical risk” is defined in the Bill as a risk associated with:

• a hazard described in new Schedule 1A of the HSW Act. The schedule lists hazards to which certain health and safety regulations apply; or   
• a hazard of any kind that is likely to result in a death, a notifiable injury or illness, a notifiable incident, or an occupational disease listed in Schedule 2 of the Accident Compensation Act 2001 – as a catch-all test.

If enacted into law, this would require PCBUs to:

1. Check Schedule 1A to see whether any listed regulations and hazards apply to their work. PCBUs would need to monitor the schedule to ensure they remain up to date.
2. Apply a catch‑all test to identify whether they have other hazards associated with likelihood of the above serious outcomes.

REGULATOR FOCUS: 

“The Bill will require WorkSafe to move from an approach of expecting everyone to address every possible risk, towards one in which WorkSafe provides guidance on the critical risks a workplace must address to meet their obligations under the Act. 

Comment:

Although the Bill’s aim is to clarify regulations in New Zealand, we are far from sure that it does and as they say the “devil is in the detail” which will take considerable time to be clarified.  Understanding of enforcement actions will require to be established in case law.

The Approved Codes of Practice (ACOP’s) are still in the process of being developed and at this early stage we have no knowledge if, or of how well, they will cover critical risk.  In reviewing Schedule 1A, so called critical risk seems to cover almost everything in a working environment outside of an office. 

WorkSafe NZ inspectors will require considerable time and further training to understand and develop their new required focus on workplace safety.

Other changes include:

• Creating a carve-out for small, low-risk businesses from general Health and Safety at Work Act requirements. These businesses will only have to manage critical risks and provide basic facilities to ensure worker welfare.
• Clarifying what a director’s health and safety due diligence duty involves and where it stops.
• Many directors think they need to do more than they should, and directors and management are also duplicating work. This change clarifies that the day-to-day management of health and safety risks is to be left to managers so directors can focus on governance.
• Clarifying that businesses do not owe health and safety duties to individuals engaging in recreational activities on their land, unless the business has work happening on the same part of the land at the same time.
• This will ensure that landowners will not be responsible if someone is injured on their land while doing recreational activities and that health and safety responsibilities will lie squarely on the organisation running the activities.

In our next newsletter we will update you on the progress of the Bill through Select Committee, The Labour and other opposition Parties strong opposition to the HSAW Amendment Bill 2016 and any changes detected in WorkSafe NZ site inspections.

If you have any concerns around this topic or other Health & Safety matters, your Securo Consultant is available to help.  We can also advise on hazard management and provide access to specialist professionals for health monitoring services,
so please give them a call.
Alternatively you can contact Securo head office on 0800 55 33 44.

Parts of the information in this newsletter has been derived from guidance documents published by WorkSafe NZ which are available at www.WorkSafe.govt.nz, Ministry of Business and Innovation (MBIE) and parts of the Health and Safety At Work Act – 2015.