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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Enforcement and other matters - Inspectors and health and safety medical practitioners - Health and safety medical practitioners

187: Offence to hinder or obstruct health and safety medical practitioner

You could also call this:

“It's illegal to interfere with a health and safety medical practitioner's work”

You must not stop a health and safety medical practitioner from doing their job. This means you can’t get in their way or try to block them when they’re using their powers to check if things are safe. You also can’t try to make someone else do this.

If you do stop a health and safety medical practitioner from doing their job without a good reason, you’re breaking the law. If you’re found guilty, you might have to pay a fine. If you’re a regular person, the fine could be up to $10,000. If you’re answering for a company or organisation, the fine could be up to $50,000.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5977175.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Crime and justice > Criminal law
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186: Immunity of health and safety medical practitioners and persons assisting health and safety medical practitioners, or

“Health and safety medical practitioners and their assistants are protected from legal action while doing their job”

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188: Offence to impersonate health and safety medical practitioner, or

“It's illegal to pretend you're a health and safety medical practitioner”

Part 4 Enforcement and other matters
Inspectors and health and safety medical practitioners: Health and safety medical practitioners

187Offence to hinder or obstruct health and safety medical practitioner

  1. A person must not, without reasonable cause, hinder or obstruct a health and safety medical practitioner in exercising his or her compliance powers, or cause or attempt to cause any other person to do so.

  2. A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction,—

  3. for an individual, to a fine not exceeding $10,000:
    1. for any other person, to a fine not exceeding $50,000.

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