A significant reform is underway which means health and safety legislation in New Zealand could soon look a little different.
The Government has proposed changes to the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) to try and simplify some requirements which we’re going to be talking to you about over the next few blogs. Although these changes are not yet law, now is a good time to understand what they mean and start thinking about how they may affect your business.
In Feb 2026 New Zealand’s Parliament introduced an amendments bill to Health and Safety at Work Act with the main proposed changes as follows:
- A formal definition of critical risk,
- Differentiate duties for small and large PCBUs,
- Approved Codes of Practice which can lead to genuine safe harbour status,
- Clarify officer duties,
- Exclude duties to people using land for recreation,
- Clarify legislation covering the same subject matter as HSWA
- Clearer rules around what incidents need to be notified to WorkSafe
- Reorganisation of WorkSafe functions
These changes aim to reduce compliance burdens and improve workplace safety.
We have provided a breakdown of these proposed changes into “bite sized” chunks giving businesses an overview of what this all means.
Our aim is to help you adapt to proposed changes with more confidence and clarity. There are 8 main proposed changes to the act and we will begin with the introduction of a formal definition of critical risk as well as the proposed differentiating duties for small and large PCBUs in the next blog.
If you want to read more from the official government site here is the link – Major overhaul to health and safety laws passes final reading | Beehive.govt.nz
