New Zealand’s Health and Safety Law Changes on 1 April 2027: What Members Need to Know
The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 is now law. It is the most significant change to New Zealand's workplace health and safety framework since the 2015 Act, and it comes into force in under six months.
What's changing:
- Critical risk comes first. The Act's purpose, and WorkSafe's main objective, are being refocused on how businesses manage their critical risks.
- "Critical risk" is now defined in law.
- Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) carry more weight. If you follow an ACOP for a specific risk, you are deemed to have met your duty for that risk.
- Industry groups can now also draft ACOPs and submit them to the regulator.
- A new "small PCBU" definition, with duties clarified around critical risk.
- Clearer rules for officers and incident reporting. Officers' due diligence duties are clarified, as are the serious injuries, illnesses and events that must be notified to the regulator.
In a sector where the consequences of failure are severe, the new definition of critical risk and the codes of practice we work to deserve a close read.
Three things to do now:
- Read MBIE's overview of the reform.
- Review how your business identifies and controls its critical risks.
- Watch for guidance. MBIE and the regulators are preparing material to help businesses get ready, and we'll share it with members as it's published.
For more information, read the full overview of the reform.
