Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Plain Language Law homepage
155: Work health and safety project orders
or “Courts can order safety projects to improve workplace health”

You could also call this:

“Court may release someone if they agree to follow safety rules for up to 2 years”

The court can let you go for up to 2 years if you agree to follow certain rules. This is called a court-ordered enforceable undertaking. You might not even be found guilty before this happens.

When you agree to these rules, you must promise to come to court if they ask you to during those 2 years. You also have to promise not to break any rules in the Health and Safety at Work Act or its regulations. The court might also give you other special rules to follow.

If the court wants you to come back, they will tell you at least 4 days before you need to be there.

If you follow all the rules for the whole time, the court will let you go completely. You won’t have to go to court again for this issue.

The regulator (the person or group in charge of making sure people follow the rules) will put a notice about your agreement on their website. But if the court says not to, then the regulator won’t put it on the website.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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


Next up: 157: Injunctions

or “Court orders to stop actions that break health and safety laws”

Part 4 Enforcement and other matters
Sentencing for offences

156Release on giving of court-ordered enforceable undertaking

  1. The court may (with or without recording a conviction) adjourn a proceeding for up to 2 years and make an order for the release of the offender if the offender gives an undertaking with specified conditions (a court-ordered enforceable undertaking).

  2. A court-ordered enforceable undertaking must specify the following conditions:

  3. that the offender appears before the court if called on to do so during the period of the adjournment and, if the court so specifies, at the time to which the further hearing is adjourned:
    1. that the offender does not commit, during the period of the adjournment, any offence against this Act or regulations:
      1. that the offender observes any special conditions imposed by the court.
        1. An offender who has given a court-ordered enforceable undertaking under this section may be called on to appear before the court by order of the court.

        2. An order under subsection (3) must be served on the offender not less than 4 days before the time specified in it for the appearance.

        3. If the court is satisfied at the time to which a further hearing of a proceeding is adjourned that the offender has observed the conditions of the court-ordered enforceable undertaking, it must discharge the offender without any further hearing of the proceeding.

        4. The regulator must publish, on an Internet site maintained by or on behalf of the regulator, notice of a court-ordered enforceable undertaking made in accordance with subsection (1), unless the court orders otherwise.

        Compare