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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Health and safety duties - Duties of PCBUs

42: Duty of PCBU who supplies plant, substances, or structures

You could also call this:

“Businesses must ensure safety of supplied workplace equipment and materials”

This section talks about the duty of a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) who supplies plant, substances, or structures that might be used in a workplace. You have to make sure these things are safe for people to use, handle, store, or work with.

If you supply these items, you need to do everything you reasonably can to ensure they don’t pose risks to people’s health and safety. This includes people who use them, handle them, store them, build with them, or do any other activities with them at work.

You also need to do tests or calculations to make sure the items are safe. If you don’t do these yourself, you need to make sure someone else does them.

You must give people who buy your plant, substances, or structures important information. This includes what the items are meant to be used for, results of any safety tests, and any special instructions to keep them safe.

If someone asks, you need to try your best to give them up-to-date information about the safety of these items.

This rule doesn’t apply if you’re selling secondhand plant ‘as is’. ‘As is’ means you’re not making any promises about how good or safe the plant is, and the buyer takes all the risk.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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=DLM5976907.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Business > Industry rules
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41: Duty of PCBU who imports plant, substances, or structures, or

“Importers must ensure safety of work-related machines, chemicals, and structures”

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43: Duty of PCBU who installs, constructs, or commissions plant or structures, or

“Responsibilities when installing, building, or setting up workplace equipment or structures”

Part 2 Health and safety duties
Duties of PCBUs

42Duty of PCBU who supplies plant, substances, or structures

  1. This section applies to a PCBU (a supplier) who conducts a business or undertaking that supplies—

  2. plant that is to be used, or could reasonably be expected to be used, as or at a workplace; or
    1. a substance that is to be used, or could reasonably be expected to be used, at a workplace; or
      1. a structure that is to be used, or could reasonably be expected to be used, as or at a workplace.

        1. The supplier must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure that the plant, substance, or structure is without risks to the health and safety of persons—

        2. who, at a workplace, use the plant, substance, or structure for a purpose for which it was designed or manufactured; or
          1. who handle the substance at a workplace; or
            1. who store the plant or substance at a workplace; or
              1. who construct the structure at a workplace; or
                1. who carry out any reasonably foreseeable activity (such as inspection, cleaning, maintenance, or repair) at a workplace in relation to—
                  1. the assembly or use of the plant for a purpose for which it was designed or manufactured, or the proper storage, decommissioning, dismantling, or disposal of the plant; or
                    1. the use of the substance for a purpose for which it was designed or manufactured, or the proper handling, storage, or disposal of the substance; or
                      1. the assembly or use of the structure for a purpose for which it was designed or manufactured, or the proper demolition or disposal of the structure; or
                      2. who are at or in the vicinity of a workplace and who are exposed to the plant, substance, or structure at the workplace or whose health or safety may be affected by a use or an activity referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (e).

                        1. The supplier must—

                        2. carry out, or arrange the carrying out of, any calculation, analysis, testing, or examination that may be necessary for the performance of the duty imposed by subsection (2); or
                          1. ensure that the calculation, analysis, testing, or examination has been carried out.

                            1. The supplier must give to each person to whom the supplier supplies the plant, substance, or structure adequate information concerning—

                            2. each purpose for which the plant, substance, or structure was designed or manufactured; and
                              1. the results of any calculations, analysis, testing, or examination referred to in subsection (3), including, in relation to a substance, any hazardous properties of the substance identified by testing; and
                                1. any conditions necessary to ensure that the plant, substance, or structure is without risks to health and safety when used for a purpose for which it was designed or manufactured or when carrying out any activity referred to in subsection (2)(a) to (e).

                                  1. The supplier must, on request, make reasonable efforts to give current relevant information on the matters referred to in subsection (4) to a person who carries out, or is to carry out, any of the activities referred to in subsection (2)(a) to (e).

                                  2. This section does not apply to the sale of plant, whether or not in trade, if the plant—

                                  3. is secondhand; and
                                    1. is sold as is.

                                      1. In subsection (6)(b), as is means that the plant is sold without any representations or warranties about its quality, durability, or fitness, and with the entire risk in those respects to be borne by the buyer.

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