Explanatory note
This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate their general effect.
These regulations, which come into force on 4 April 2016,—
prescribe matters relating to work groups, health and safety representatives, and health and safety committees; and
specify the health and safety issues that an inspector, appointed by the regulator, may assist the parties in resolving.
Part 1 (preliminary provisions)—
defines or refers to the terms that are used or defined in these regulations:
refers to Schedule 1, which deals with transitional, savings, and related provisions.
Part 2 (worker engagement, participation, and representation) is divided into 5 subparts.
Subpart 1 (high-risk sectors or industries), in regulation 5,—
specifies the high-risk sectors or industries for the purposes of sections 62(4)(b) and 66(3)(b) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (the Act):
refers to Schedule 2 where those sectors or industries are further specified:
excludes some businesses or undertakings that are exclusively or predominantly carrying out work of a type, or in a sector, as specified in Schedule 3.
Regulation 5 and the associated Schedules 2 and 3 are subject to review by the Minister at any time, but as soon as practicable after 4 April 2018, and then no less frequently than 5 years from the date of the immediately preceding review.
Subpart 2 (work groups)—
prescribes the default ratio of health and safety representatives to workers to be maintained in a work group comprising all the workers in the business or undertaking:
prescribes the requirements for determining work groups, if the PCBU considers that the default work group comprising all the workers in the business or undertaking would be inappropriate for the business or undertaking:
prescribes the requirements for withdrawal from, and variation of, agreements concerning multiple PCBU work group arrangements.
Subpart 3 (health and safety representatives)—
specifies, in relation to elections for health and safety representatives, who is eligible to—
nominate candidates for elections; and
prescribes election procedures, including the duties of a PCBU in relation to an election of 1 or more health and safety representatives:
prescribes the term of office of health and safety representatives:
provides for the resignation of health and safety representatives and the procedure for removing a health and safety representative:
requires a PCBU to display a list of the names and contact details of health and safety representatives for each work group:
provides for the training of health and safety representatives, including—
types of training for health and safety representatives:
requiring PCBUs to decide on health and safety representatives’ access to training, to pay the costs of, and reasonable expenses for, training, and to share the costs of training in multiple PCBU arrangements:
prescribing the maximum total number of days’ paid leave a PCBU must allow for training of health and safety representatives.
Subpart 4 (health and safety committees)—
prescribes the time within which a PCBU must give written notice of its decision whether to establish a health and safety committee for the business or undertaking, or part of the business or undertaking:
provides for the membership of health and safety committees:
provides the meeting requirements for health and safety committees.
Subpart 5 (issue that inspector may decide under section 99(3) of the Act) specifies that an inspector, appointed by the regulator, may assist the parties in resolving an issue in relation to the membership of a health and safety committee.
Regulatory impact statement
The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment produced regulatory impact statements on 21 September 2015 and 4 February 2016 to help inform the decisions taken by the Government relating to the contents of this instrument.
A copy of these regulatory impact statements can be found at—
Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2012.
Date of notification in Gazette: 18 February 2016.
These regulations are administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.