Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Health and safety at work - Interpretation - Key terms

17: Meaning of PCBU

You could also call this:

“Who counts as a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU)”

In this law, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) means someone who runs a business or does work. This can be by themselves or with other people. It doesn’t matter if they make money from it or not.

However, some people are not considered PCBUs. These include:

  • People who are only workers or officers in the business
  • Groups of volunteers working together for the community (called volunteer associations)
  • Someone who lives in a home and hires another person to do work only in that home
  • Special government workers (called statutory officers) when they are working as part of the business
  • Anyone else that the government says is not a PCBU

A volunteer association is a group of volunteers working together for community purposes. None of these volunteers can hire anyone to work for the group.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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=DLM5976849.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Previous

16: Interpretation, or

“Explanation of key terms used in the Health and Safety at Work Act”

Next

18: Meaning of officer, or

“Who counts as an officer in a business or organisation”

Part 1 Health and safety at work
Interpretation: Key terms

17Meaning of PCBU

  1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, a person conducting a business or undertaking or PCBU—

  2. means a person conducting a business or undertaking—
    1. whether the person conducts a business or undertaking alone or with others; and
      1. whether or not the business or undertaking is conducted for profit or gain; but
      2. does not include—
        1. a person to the extent that the person is employed or engaged solely as a worker in, or as an officer of, the business or undertaking:
          1. a volunteer association:
            1. an occupier of a home to the extent that the occupier employs or engages another person solely to do residential work:
              1. a statutory officer to the extent that the officer is a worker in, or an officer of, the business or undertaking:
                1. a person, or class of persons, that is declared by regulations not to be a PCBU for the purposes of this Act or any provision of this Act.

                2. In this section, volunteer association means a group of volunteers (whether incorporated or unincorporated) working together for 1 or more community purposes where none of the volunteers, whether alone or jointly with any other volunteers, employs any person to carry out work for the volunteer association.

                Compare