NZISM News 20 August 2025

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This opinion piece was reprinted with kind permission from the Post (5 August)

Last week, the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon Brooke van Velden, announced a new change to health and safety regulations every day. The results were decidedly mixed and, we think, a missed opportunity.

So what changes were in the announcements and why should we take notice?

Monday was Construction Day, with the Minister announcing that she had instructed her officials to consult at a future date about new scaffolding rules, and to develop new guidance on pre-qualification and overlapping duties. Journalists rather cruelly teased the Minister about her announcement of a plan to develop a consultation document and future guidance but we agree with the need to get these topics right and to seek expert assistance.

Pre-qualification is one of the banes of subbies' lives due to the many incompatible systems and the forest of paperwork they create. The question of how far your obligations go when you share a duty has also been one of the most painful questions under the new Act in 2015 and better guidance would make a big difference here.

The Minister’s proposals around falls from heights are more problematic. The plan is to consult on an approach to work at heights which would see some scaffolding replaced by safety harnesses or ladders. As Chris Alderson from Construction Health and Safety New Zealand has pointed out, this is a rare area where New Zealand workers are safer than their counterparts overseas. Chris estimates that 40-70 workers would have died in the last five years if we had the same rates as Australia and the UK; he reckons the difference is the scaffolding and edge protection requirements.

Tuesday was Farming Day, and the Minister surprised many by suggesting that current health and safety rules are preventing farm kids from picking vegetables and collecting eggs on the family farm, particularly when Federated Farmers suggested the issue was imaginary. There is nothing in the current health and safety laws which prevent either; though there are some sensible requirements that kids under 15 don’t drive tractors or work with hazardous chemicals. Some heartrending recent cases of kids dying on farms have shown the wisdom of these rules.

Wednesday was Manufacturing Day and the Minister is keen to relax the rules around machine guarding (the technology that prevents being pulled into or crushed by machinery). We’re concerned that some businesses may cut corners when buying or fitting out machines. This could be a big problem because, according to WorkSafe’s data, every two days on average someone is seriously hurt or maimed by “being trapped in moving machinery or equipment.” We don’t do this well and the Minister’s changes may make it worse. Suggestions from the Society for Engineering Safety that we adopt existing clear guidance for specific machines to supplement the first principles approach have so far not chimed with her.

The Minister also announced a review of the workplace exposure standards for soft wood dust, hard wood dust, flour dust and welding fumes. We have no problem with reviewing these standards, although they were recently revised on the basis of consultation with industry and in line with international standards. We note that they are not binding on businesses and are intended for guidance rather than as hard-and-fast rules.

Thursday was Science Day and included the welcome-though-niche announcement of changes to Hazardous Substances regulations so that university laboratories aren’t held to the same rules as commercial laboratories. I’ve met with representatives from various university laboratories and this is a significant problem for them and good to see it's getting fixed. The wider problems with the Hazardous Substances regime are not mentioned. Alongside this, the previously completed consultation on storage of hydrogen will be widened slightly to public consultation.

Friday was Adventure and Amusement Day, with the announcement that the Minister will be consulting the adventure activities sector to ensure that only high risk activities are caught by the decision. Alongside this, the Minister will ensure that only higher risk amusement devices (such as ferris wheels) will require council permits. She’s also announced that she’s mulling over the responsibilities that volunteer groups have for maintaining trails and pest control to encourage more of this.

In sum, the Minister’s announcements have been an odd grab bag of good ideas in an early stage of development (prequal, overlapping duties, university laboratories); worrying proposals to loosen rules in high risk areas that are likely to lead to more harm (working at heights, machine guarding); and the strange (unneeded clarification of farm kids abilities to pick vegetables and gather eggs). Many would have been buried on WorkSafe’s website under previous administrations but the edict has clearly gone out that more announcements are better.

We worry that Minister van Velden is not getting good advice on how to tackle the Safety part of her portfolio and is focussed on gripes and minor technicalities rather than the things which will make a real difference. While it’s easy to dwell on the farcical elements of the week's announcements, we move from farce to tragedy when we consider the human cost of our poor health and safety record as a country. We encourage the Minister to be more ambitious; we’d love to help her.

Ngā mihi

Jeff Sissons
NZISM CEO