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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Enforcement and other matters - Remedial action

121: Costs of remedial or other action

You could also call this:

“Who pays when the regulator fixes safety problems at work”

If you do something that’s not safe at work, and the regulator (the people who make sure work is safe) has to fix it, you might have to pay for it. This can happen in two ways:

  1. If you get a notice telling you to stop doing something unsafe (called a prohibition notice), and the regulator has to fix the problem, they can make you pay for it.

  2. Even if you didn’t get a notice, but you could have got one because of something unsafe, and the regulator fixes it, they can still make you pay for it.

The regulator can ask you to pay back the money they spent on fixing the safety problem. They treat this like a debt that you owe them, which means you have to pay it back.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5977076.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
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120: Power of regulator to take other remedial action, or

“Regulator can take immediate action to fix dangerous workplace situations”

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122: Civil proceedings relating to non-compliance with notice, or

“Court can enforce notices if you don't follow them”

Part 4 Enforcement and other matters
Remedial action

121Costs of remedial or other action

  1. The regulator may recover as a debt due to the regulator the reasonable costs of any remedial action taken under—

  2. section 119 from the person to whom a prohibition notice is issued; or
    1. section 120 from any person to whom a prohibition notice could have been issued in relation to the matter.

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