Health and safety reforms set to cut red tape for small businesses

The Government has announced significant reforms to New Zealand’s health and safety laws, aiming to ease compliance burdens for small businesses while maintaining strong workplace safety standards.

The Government is aiming to boost economic growth by reforming health and safety laws to lessen the cost and burden of compliance on low-risk businesses, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says.

“We’re delivering on the ACT-National coalition agreement to reform health and safety laws and regulations. We want all Kiwis to return home safe after every working day.

“I have travelled across the country meeting with businesses, employers, and workers about how the current system works for them and what they want to see in this reform that will make their work safer. What I have been hearing consistently is that small, low-risk businesses are not sure which risks to focus on and struggle to meet the costs of compliance.

“I’ve listened and I’m acting. Cabinet [has] agreed to a suite of system-wide changes, including sharpening the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, to cut through the unnecessary red tape holding these businesses back.”

The changes, welcomed by business advocacy groups, seek to refocus efforts on managing critical risks rather than excessive paperwork and minor hazards.

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich welcomes the reforms, saying that compliance costs have long overshadowed the intent of workplace safety regulations.

“Everyone deserves to expect a safe working environment – no matter the workplace. But red tape surrounding compliance and prohibitive costs have taken away from the task at hand – that is making sure people come home from work in one piece,” says Rich.

“Small businesses are unsure which risks to focus on and often struggle with costs of compliance. The Government’s call to limit health and safety requirements in small, low-risk businesses is a sensible approach.”

Beyond small businesses, additional changes are expected to streamline paperwork and eliminate ineffective ‘tick-box’ exercises, allowing businesses to focus on meaningful safety improvements.

Business Canterbury Chief Executive Leeann Watson calls the reforms the most significant changes to health and safety legislation since 2015. She notes that shifting the focus to critical risks rather than requiring businesses to address all potential hazards would be a game-changer.

“It has always been a bit of a headscratcher that small, low risk businesses need to operate using the same principles and rules as large industrial businesses. This has led to complexity and confusion that costs time, energy and money for businesses – without necessarily enhancing safety outcomes. Many businesses feel like they need to have pages and pages of risks in a register to comply with the law – many of which are then impossible to prioritise, or even remember, amongst management and staff.”

Business Canterbury also echoed concerns raised by members about the role of WorkSafe. Many businesses believe the regulator should take on more of an advisory role rather than focusing primarily on enforcement.

“Businesses want to keep their teams safe and are looking for clear, actionable advice from regulators on what is ‘practicable’.”

The Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) also welcomed the Government’s changes, arguing that reducing unnecessary paperwork would enhance overall compliance.

“Reducing the red tape faced by small businesses will allow them to focus on the things that matter,” says EMA Manager of Employment Relations and Safety Paul Jarvie.

“While this change in focus will not reduce safety in the workplace, it should reduce time-consuming paperwork and ‘tick-box’ exercises that have little to no direct impact on wellbeing at work.

“When critical risks are identified, they must be managed comprehensively.”