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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Health and safety at work - Preliminary provisions

3: Purpose

You could also call this:

“This provision explains the main goals of the law for keeping people safe at work”

This law is about keeping you and others safe at work. It aims to create a fair system that protects workers and other people from getting hurt or sick because of work or dangerous equipment.

The law wants to make sure that you have a say in how to make your workplace safer. It encourages workers, bosses, and unions to work together to improve safety at work.

You should get good advice, information, and training about how to stay safe at work. The law also makes sure that people follow the rules by checking up on them and taking action if they don’t.

The law wants workplaces to keep getting better at keeping people safe. It sets high standards for safety and aims to make them even better over time.

When thinking about how to protect workers and others, the law says you should give people the best protection possible from dangers at work, as long as it’s reasonable to do so.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5976667.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Health and wellbeing > Public health
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“When this law starts to apply”

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“Rules for managing changes to the law”

Part 1 Health and safety at work
Preliminary provisions

3Purpose

  1. The main purpose of this Act is to provide for a balanced framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces by—

  2. protecting workers and other persons against harm to their health, safety, and welfare by eliminating or minimising risks arising from work or from prescribed high-risk plant; and
    1. providing for fair and effective workplace representation, consultation, co-operation, and resolution of issues in relation to work health and safety; and
      1. encouraging unions and employer organisations to take a constructive role in promoting improvements in work health and safety practices, and assisting PCBUs and workers to achieve a healthier and safer working environment; and
        1. promoting the provision of advice, information, education, and training in relation to work health and safety; and
          1. securing compliance with this Act through effective and appropriate compliance and enforcement measures; and
            1. ensuring appropriate scrutiny and review of actions taken by persons performing functions or exercising powers under this Act; and
              1. providing a framework for continuous improvement and progressively higher standards of work health and safety.

                1. In furthering subsection (1)(a), regard must be had to the principle that workers and other persons should be given the highest level of protection against harm to their health, safety, and welfare from hazards and risks arising from work or from specified types of plant as is reasonably practicable.

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