Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

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Reprint as at 29 March 2018

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Public Act		2015 No 70
Date of assent		4 September 2015
Commencement		see section 2

Note

Changes authorised by subpart 2 of Part 2 of the Legislation Act 2012 have been made in this official reprint.

Note 4 at the end of this reprint provides a list of the amendments incorporated.

This Act is administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.

1	Title
2	Commencement
	Part 1 Health and safety at work
	Subpart 1—Preliminary provisions
3	Purpose
4	Transitional, savings, and related provisions
	Subpart 2—Application of Act
5	Application of Act to the Crown
6	Enforcement of Act against the Crown
7	Application of Act to Armed Forces
8	Application of Act to intelligence and security agencies
9	Application of Act to aircraft in operation
10	Application of Act to ships
11	Application of Act in exclusive economic zone and in or on continental shelf
12	Application of Act to prescribed high-risk plant
	Disapplication of Part 3
13	Certain provisions of Part 3 do not apply to members of Armed Forces
14	Part 3 does not apply to volunteer workers
15	Part 3 does not apply to prisoners
	Subpart 3—Interpretation
	General
16	Interpretation
	Key terms
17	Meaning of PCBU
18	Meaning of officer
19	Meaning of worker
20	Meaning of workplace
21	Meaning of supply
22	Meaning of reasonably practicable
23	Meaning of notifiable injury or illness
24	Meaning of notifiable incident
25	Meaning of notifiable event
	Examples
26	Status of examples
	Subpart 4—General provisions
27	PCBU must not levy workers
28	No contracting out
29	Insurance against fines unlawful
	Part 2 Health and safety duties
	Subpart 1—Key principles relating to duties
30	Management of risks
31	Duties not transferable
32	Person may have more than 1 duty
33	More than 1 person may have same duty
34	PCBU must consult other PCBUs with same duty
35	Compliance with other enactments
	Subpart 2—Duties of PCBUs
36	Primary duty of care
37	Duty of PCBU who manages or controls workplace
38	Duty of PCBU who manages or controls fixtures, fittings, or plant at workplaces
39	Duty of PCBU who designs plant, substances, or structures
40	Duty of PCBU who manufactures plant, substances, or structures
41	Duty of PCBU who imports plant, substances, or structures
42	Duty of PCBU who supplies plant, substances, or structures
43	Duty of PCBU who installs, constructs, or commissions plant or structures
	Subpart 3—Duties of officers, workers, and other persons
44	Duty of officers
45	Duties of workers
46	Duties of other persons at workplace
	Subpart 4—Offences relating to duties
47	Offence of reckless conduct in respect of duty
48	Offence of failing to comply with duty that exposes individual to risk of death or serious injury or serious illness
49	Offence of failing to comply with duty
	Specific provisions relating to liability of certain persons
50	Liability of officers
51	Liability of volunteers
52	Liability of certain office holders
	Other matters relating to offences
53	Actions taken to prevent harm
54	Proof of intention not required for certain offences
	Subpart 5—Duties to preserve sites and notify notifiable events
55	Duty to preserve sites
56	Duty to notify notifiable event
57	Requirement to keep records
	Part 3 Worker engagement, participation, and representation
	Subpart 1—Engagement with workers and worker participation practices
	Engagement with workers
58	Duty to engage with workers
59	Nature of engagement
60	When engagement is required
	Worker participation practices
61	Duty to have worker participation practices
	Subpart 2—Health and safety representatives and health and safety committees
	Election of health and safety representatives
62	Election of health and safety representatives
63	Requirements for conducting elections
	Determination of work groups
64	Determination of work groups
65	Determination of numbers of health and safety representatives for work groups
	Health and safety committees
66	Health and safety committees
	Further provisions relating to health and safety representatives, health and safety committees, and health and safety in mining sector
67	Further provisions relating to health and safety representatives and health and safety committees
68	Further provisions relating to mining sector
	Subpart 3—Provisional improvement notices
69	Provisional improvement notices
70	Training requirements relating to issue of provisional improvement notice
71	Requirements relating to provisional improvement notices
72	Provisional improvement notice may include recommendations to remedy contravention
73	Minor changes to provisional improvement notice
74	Issue of provisional improvement notice
75	Cancellation of provisional improvement notice
76	Display of provisional improvement notice
77	Irregularities or defects in notice
78	Offence relating to breach of provisional improvement notice
79	Review of provisional improvement notice
80	Regulator must ensure inspector reviews notice
81	Decision of inspector on review of provisional improvement notice
	Subpart 4—Right to cease or direct cessation of unsafe work
82	Meaning of cease work
83	Right of worker to cease or refuse to carry out unsafe work
84	Health and safety representative may direct unsafe work to cease
85	Training requirements relating to giving direction to cease work
86	Alternative work
87	Regulator may assist to resolve issues relating to cessation of work
	Subpart 5—Prohibition of adverse, coercive, or misleading conduct
88	Meaning of adverse conduct
89	Meaning of prohibited health and safety reason
90	Prohibition on adverse conduct
91	Prohibition on requesting, instructing, inducing, encouraging, authorising, or assisting adverse conduct
92	Prohibition on coercion or inducement
93	Misrepresentation
94	Proof of adverse conduct
	Civil proceedings in relation to adverse or coercive conduct
95	Civil proceedings in relation to engaging in or inducing adverse or coercive conduct
96	Procedure for civil proceedings for adverse conduct
	General provisions
97	General provisions
	Subpart 6—Issue resolution
98	Resolution of work health and safety issues
99	Regulator may appoint inspector to assist parties in resolving issue
	Part 4 Enforcement and other matters
100	Meaning of notice
	Subpart 1—Enforcement measures
	Improvement notices
101	Power to issue improvement notices
102	Content of improvement notices
103	Compliance with improvement notice
104	Extension of time for compliance with improvement notices
	Prohibition notices
105	Power to issue prohibition notice
106	Content of prohibition notice
107	Compliance with prohibition notice
	Non-disturbance notices
108	Power to issue non-disturbance notice
109	Content of non-disturbance notice
110	Compliance with non-disturbance notice
111	Issue of subsequent non-disturbance notices
	General provisions
112	General provisions relating to notices
113	Changes to notice by inspector
114	Regulator may vary or cancel notice
115	Formal irregularities or defects in notice
116	Issue of notice
117	Display of notice at workplace by person issued with notice
118	Inspector may display notice
	Subpart 2—Remedial action
119	When regulator may carry out remedial action
120	Power of regulator to take other remedial action
121	Costs of remedial or other action
	Subpart 3—Civil proceedings for non-compliance with notices
122	Civil proceedings relating to non-compliance with notice
	Subpart 4—Enforceable undertakings
123	Regulator may accept enforceable undertakings
124	Notice of decision and reasons for decision
125	When enforceable undertaking is enforceable
126	Compliance with enforceable undertaking
127	Contravention of enforceable undertaking
128	Withdrawal or variation of enforceable undertaking
129	Proceedings for alleged contravention
	Subpart 5—Reviews and appeals
130	Interpretation
	Internal review
131	Application for internal review
132	Decision of regulator
133	Notice of decision on internal review
134	Stay of reviewable decision on internal review
	Appeal to District Court
135	Application for appeal
	Subpart 6—Infringement offences
136	Interpretation
137	Proceedings for infringement offence
138	Infringement notices
139	Revocation of infringement notice
140	Payment of infringement fees
	Subpart 7—Criminal proceedings
141	Meaning of enforcement action
142	Person may notify regulator of interest in knowing of enforcement action taken by regulator
143	Prosecutions by regulator
144	Private prosecutions
145	Continuing or repeated matters
	Limitation periods for prosecutions
146	Limitation period for prosecutions brought by regulator
147	Extension of time if regulator needs longer to decide whether to bring prosecution
148	Limitation period for private prosecutions
149	Certain proceedings may be brought after end of limitation period if fresh evidence discovered
	Subpart 8—Sentencing for offences
150	Application of subpart
151	Sentencing criteria
152	Order for payment of regulator’s costs in bringing prosecution
153	Adverse publicity orders
154	Orders for restoration
155	Work health and safety project orders
156	Release on giving of court-ordered enforceable undertaking
157	Injunctions
158	Training orders
159	Offence to fail to comply with order
	Subpart 9—General provisions relating to proceedings
160	State of mind of directors, employees, or agents attributed
161	Conduct of directors, employees, or agents attributed
162	Proceedings involving classified security information
	Subpart 10—Inspectors and health and safety medical practitioners
	Inspectors
163	Appointment of inspectors
164	Identity cards
165	Suspension and ending of appointment of inspectors
166	Inspectors subject to regulator’s directions
167	Regulator has powers of inspector
168	Powers of entry and inspection
169	Power to enter homes
170	Power to deal with cause of imminent danger
171	Notice of entry
172	Power to take samples and other objects and things
173	Power of regulator to authorise making of applications for search warrants
174	Continuation of powers of entry and inspection without search warrants
175	Power to require name and address
176	Duty to assist inspectors
177	Immunity of inspectors and persons assisting inspectors or regulator
178	Offence for failing to provide inspector with correct name and residential address
179	Offence to hinder or obstruct inspector
180	Offence to impersonate inspector
	Health and safety medical practitioners
181	Appointment of health and safety medical practitioners
182	Suspension and ending of appointment of health and safety medical practitioners
183	Powers of entry and inspection of health and safety medical practitioners
184	Health and safety medical practitioners may require workers to be medically examined
185	Health and safety medical practitioners may suspend workers in certain cases
186	Immunity of health and safety medical practitioners and persons assisting health and safety medical practitioners
187	Offence to hinder or obstruct health and safety medical practitioner
188	Offence to impersonate health and safety medical practitioner
	Part 5 Miscellaneous provisions
	Subpart 1—Administration
189	Role of WorkSafe
190	Functions and powers of regulator other than WorkSafe
	Designated agencies
191	Designated agencies
192	Role of designated agencies
193	Proceedings not to be questioned for want of form
	Joint policy directions
194	Designated agency must give effect to joint policy directions
	Health and Safety at Work Strategy and workplace injury prevention
195	Health and Safety at Work Strategy
196	Workplace injury prevention
	Information sharing
197	Sharing of information between regulator and regulatory agencies
198	Requirement of other regulator to notify WorkSafe of notifiable event
199	Requirement of medical officer of health to notify regulator of work-related notifiable disease or hazardous substances injury
200	Coroner may call for report on fatal accident
	Funding levy
201	Funding levy
202	Consultation requirement relating to funding levy
	Subpart 2—Authorisations
203	Meaning of authorised
204	Requirements for authorisation of workplaces
205	Requirements for authorisation of plant or substance
206	Requirements for authorisation of work
207	Requirements for prescribed qualifications or experience
208	Requirement to comply with conditions of authorisation
	Subpart 3—General provisions
209	Offence to give false or misleading information
210	Confidentiality of information
	Subpart 4—Regulations, exemptions, approved codes of practice, and safe work instruments
	Regulations
211	Regulations relating to health and safety
212	Regulations relating to hazardous substances
213	Regulations relating to exemptions in respect of Armed Forces
214	Regulations relating to worker engagement, participation, and representation
215	Regulations relating to levies
216	Regulations providing for transitional matters
217	Consultation requirements for making certain regulations
218	Further provisions relating to regulations
219	Procedure for making regulations relating to definitions, exclusions, or exemptions
	Exemptions
220	Regulator may grant exemption from compliance with regulations
221	Status and publication of exemptions granted by regulator
	Codes of practice
222	Approval of codes of practice
223	Publication and commencement of approved code of practice
224	Access to approved codes of practice
225	Proof of codes of practice
226	Use of approved codes of practice in proceedings
	Safe work instruments
227	Minister may approve safe work instruments
228	Legal effect of safe work instruments
	General provisions
229	Minister may delegate approval of codes of practice and safe work instruments to regulator
230	Relationship between regulations relating to hazardous substances under this Act and Resource Management Act 1991
	Subpart 5—Repeals, revocations, and consequential amendments
231	Repeals and revocations
232	Consequential amendments
	Schedule 1 Transitional and savings provisions
	Schedule 2 Health and safety representatives and health and safety committees
	Schedule 3 Health and safety in mining sector
	Schedule 4 Provisions relating to classified security information
	Schedule 5 Consequential amendments
	Reprint notes

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