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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Miscellaneous provisions - General provisions

209: Offence to give false or misleading information

You could also call this:

“It's illegal to provide false or misleading information about workplace health and safety”

You must not give false or misleading information when you’re following the rules of this Act or its regulations. This means you can’t leave out important details that would make the information misleading.

If you’re giving documents to follow the rules, and you know the document isn’t true or is misleading, you need to do one of two things. You can either point out what’s wrong and give the right information if you can. Or, you can add a signed statement explaining what’s false or misleading about the document.

If you break these rules, you’re committing an offence. If you’re caught and found guilty, you’ll have to pay a fine. If you’re an individual, you might have to pay up to $10,000. If you’re answering for a company or organisation, the fine could be up to $50,000.

Remember, it’s important to always be honest and give complete information when you’re dealing with this Act or its rules.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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=DLM5977210.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Work and jobs > Worker rights
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Part 5 Miscellaneous provisions
General provisions

209Offence to give false or misleading information

  1. A person must not give information in complying or purportedly complying with this Act or regulations that the person knows—

  2. is false or misleading in a material particular; or
    1. omits any matter or thing without which the information is misleading.

      1. A person must not produce a document in complying or purportedly complying with this Act or regulations that the person knows is false or misleading in a material particular without—

      2. indicating the respect in which it is false or misleading and, if practicable, providing correct information; or
        1. accompanying the document with a written statement signed by the person, or, in the case of a body corporate, a person authorised by the body corporate that—
          1. states that the document is, to the knowledge of the first-mentioned person, false or misleading in a material particular; and
            1. sets out, or refers to, the material particular in which the document is, to the knowledge of the first-mentioned person, false or misleading.

            2. A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) 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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