GOVT to cut health and safety requirements for small businesses

Brooke Van Velden spoke of the plan at this week at this week’s Post-Cobinet Press Conference with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

She said the cabinet agreed to restrict the focus of the Health and Safety Law at risk that could cause death, serious injuries or illnesses in small businesses.

Van Velden said small low -risk companies are unsure what risks focused and fought to meet the costs of meeting health and safety requirements.

She said the changes would reduce “cash and security activities” by cutting the notification requirements for critical incidents and minimizing overlap between law and regulatory agencies.

“For example, a small clothing store would still need to provide first aid, emergency plans and basic installations – such as adequate lighting – but would not have to have a policy of psychosocial damage in force.

“This will improve results for companies and workers, concentrating the system to critical risks and getting rid of unnecessary costs, ensuring that there is less paperwork and more clarity about what will make workplaces safe,” said Van Velden.

Direct line to approach the ‘Mar of Road-Cones’

Van Velden said he traveled across the country to hear health and safety concerns and a common question raised was the excessive use of road cones at the country’s road workplaces.

She said that a direct line for the public reporting the overeating use of road cones would be created and worksafe would provide guidance where problems were identified.

“I am directing Worksafe to confirm and provide guidelines on excessive road cones instances. Having a workshofe focus on that will be a change of culture for the agency, but that means the broader direction this government is taking with the health and safety system,” said Van Velden.

Van Velden said the changes would be the first step in a “set of changes throughout the system” to reform health and safety laws and regulations.

She said that the bill will be presented to Parliament by the end of the year and – if approved – would be affected at the beginning of 2026.

The changes do not address reduce the high rates of deaths in the workplace – Safety Specialists

But the president of the security management institute said the government wasted “a golden opportunity to improve [the country’s] poor health and safety performance “.

Mike Cosman said the 50-70 people who died in work accidents each year were more than four times the rate of death at the workplace than in the UK.

He said the proposed changes would do little to address this.

“Reforms are focused on costs for prevention business and not much higher damage costs.

“This seems to be looking at us wrong telescope, because the cost of our health and safety record is north of $ 4.9 billion a year so as not to talk about the impact on workers and their families,” Cosman said.

Minister ignoring the advice of experts, employers and sectors of high risk

He said Van Velden ignored the recommendations of employers, experts, unions, academics and high -risk sectors representing the government in October.

“If the first -minister wants New Zealand to be the best place in the world to live by 2035, he should turn around our shameful injury and disease in the workplace to record a priority.

“If he wants to increase the economy, we need a healthy workforce to do so. An injured worker presses companies, ACC and the health system,” Cosman said.

Cosman said workers should not face more risks because they worked for smaller companies.