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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Miscellaneous provisions - Regulations, exemptions, approved codes of practice, and safe work instruments - Regulations

211: Regulations relating to health and safety

You could also call this:

“Rules for keeping you safe at work”

The Governor-General can make rules about work health and safety when the Minister suggests it. These rules can cover many things to keep you safe at work.

The rules can say what duties you, your boss, and others at work have to do. They can explain how to do these duties and what activities are allowed or not allowed in different workplaces.

If something dangerous happens at work, there are rules about what to do and how to stop it from happening again.

The rules can also cover how to safely use, store, and handle equipment, chemicals, and structures at work. They can say how to design, make, install, and maintain these things.

To protect you and others at work, the rules can say what safety gear you need, like protective equipment and first aid kits. They can also say what facilities you should have at work and in your work accommodation.

There are rules about how to deal with hazards and risks at work. This includes setting standards for exposure to dangerous things and how to control these hazards.

The rules say what records need to be kept about health and safety, and who needs to be told about certain things that happen at work.

There are also rules about getting licenses, certifications, and permits for some jobs. This includes how to get them, renew them, or cancel them.

The rules can set fees for applications and services, and say how to review or appeal decisions made under this Act.

If someone breaks these rules, they might have to pay a fine of up to $50,000. For less serious offences, there are infringement notices with fees up to $12,000.

These rules are called secondary legislation, which means they’re published in a special way for everyone to see.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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=DLM5977214.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Government and voting > Government departments
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“Keeping information private when the regulator receives it”

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“Rules for safely managing dangerous materials”

Part 5 Miscellaneous provisions
Regulations, exemptions, approved codes of practice, and safe work instruments: Regulations

211Regulations relating to health and safety

  1. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for 1 or more of the following purposes:

    Duties and obligations

  2. imposing duties and obligations relating to work health and safety on PCBUs, workers, and other persons at workplaces:
    1. prescribing the way in which duties and obligations imposed by this Act and regulations are to be performed:
      1. prescribing matters relating to the regulation or prohibition of specified activities or a specified class of activities—
        1. at workplaces or a specified class of workplaces; or
          1. by a specified class of persons on whom duties or obligations are imposed by this Act to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety:
          2. imposing specific duties on persons in relation to any matter provided for under regulations:

              1. Notifiable events

            1. prescribing matters (including requirements) relating to notifiable events at workplaces, including—
              1. regulating the taking of any action to prevent a notifiable event from occurring at a workplace or in the course of conducting a business or undertaking:
                1. regulating or prohibiting the taking of any action in the event of a notifiable event at a workplace or in the conduct of a business or undertaking:

                  2. Plant, substances, or structures

                2. prescribing matters (including requirements) relating to plant, substances, or structures, including—
                  1. regulating the storage, tracking, and handling of plant, substances, or structures:
                    1. regulating the design, manufacture, installation, operation, alteration, examination, testing, labelling, maintenance, or repair of plant or structures:
                      1. regulating the examination, testing, analysis, packaging, or labelling of any substance (taking into account any EPA controls set for a hazardous substance):

                        2. Protection and welfare of workers and other persons

                      2. prescribing matters (including requirements) relating to the protection and welfare of workers and other persons at a workplace, including—
                        1. regulating the provision, maintenance, administration, or use in specified circumstances of—
                          1. personal protective equipment:
                            1. first aid (including requiring a PCBU to make persons available at the workplace who are trained in administering first aid):
                              1. rescue equipment:
                              2. regulating the provision of facilities for the welfare of workers and other persons at the workplace:
                                1. prescribing matters relating to health and safety in relation to any accommodation provided to workers or facilities for the welfare of workers using accommodation:
                                  1. setting, or providing for the setting of, mechanisms for measuring and controlling exposure to substances (or their components) in the workplace:

                                    2. Hazards and risks

                                  2. prescribing matters (including requirements) relating to hazards and risks, including—
                                    1. specifying standards relating to the use of or exposure to any hazard, for example, a physical, biological, chemical, atmospheric, or psychological hazard:
                                      1. prescribing matters relating to safety cases, safety management plans, and safety management systems (however described):
                                        1. prescribing matters relating to measures to control hazards and risks:
                                          1. requiring workers who work with children to undergo Police vetting:

                                            2. Records and notices

                                          2. prescribing requirements relating to—
                                            1. the keeping and availability of records of health and safety representatives:
                                              1. the keeping of records in relation to notifiable events:
                                                1. the keeping and availability of records of specified activities, matters, or things to be kept by specified persons:
                                                  1. the making available of, or the giving of, any notice, report, or other document about specified activities, matters, or things to the regulator, an inspector, or other specified person:
                                                  2. prescribing the information that must be included in any notice, report, or other document made available or given in accordance with paragraph (i):

                                                      1. Authorisations

                                                    1. prescribing matters relating to authorisations (including licences, certifications, registrations, and permits), qualifications, and experience for the purposes of subpart 2 of Part 5 or regulations, including providing for—
                                                      1. the grant, issue, renewal, variation, suspension, cancellation, expiry, and replacement of authorisations:
                                                        1. the evidence and information to be provided in relation to applications (for example, statutory declarations or compliance certificates):
                                                          1. exemptions from a requirement to be authorised:
                                                            1. variations of authorisations by the regulator, whether on application or otherwise:
                                                              1. the authorisation of persons who are to be involved in the authorisation of other persons (for example, as trainers, assessors, auditors, or compliance certifiers):
                                                                1. the authorisation of persons to authorise other persons:
                                                                  1. the grant, issue, renewal, suspension, or cancellation of authorisations granted by persons referred to in subparagraph (vi):
                                                                    1. processes for the review or appeal of decisions in respect of authorisations:
                                                                      1. the examination of applicants for authorisations, including setting competency, character, security, or other relevant requirements or providing for the regulator to do so:
                                                                        1. the minimum age for a person to be eligible for an authorisation:
                                                                          1. the grounds and processes for regular and performance-based auditing of authorisations:
                                                                            1. conditions of authorisations:
                                                                              1. fees for applications for the grant, issue, renewal, variation, or audit of authorisations:
                                                                                1. the keeping of 1 or more registers of authorisations, and for access to those registers:
                                                                                2. the recognition of authorisations granted under other enactments or by other jurisdictions and any exceptions to such recognition:

                                                                                    1. Identity cards

                                                                                  1. prescribing matters relating to identity cards:

                                                                                      1. Review and appeal of decisions

                                                                                    1. prescribing matters relating to the review and appeal of decisions made under this Act:

                                                                                        1. Mining sector

                                                                                      1. prescribing matters relating to industry health and safety representatives, including the eligibility criteria for appointment as an industry health and safety representative:
                                                                                        1. prescribing matters relating to the New Zealand Board of Mining Examiners, including prescribing functions relating to training and competency requirements for participants in the extractives industry:

                                                                                            1. Exemptions

                                                                                          1. prescribing exemptions from compliance with regulations on the terms and conditions (if any) prescribed:
                                                                                            1. prescribing criteria or other requirements that relate to exemptions granted by the regulator under section 220, including specifying that an exemption must not be granted in respect of any particular provision or provisions:

                                                                                                1. Offences and penalties

                                                                                              1. creating offences in respect of the contravention of regulations and providing for the imposition of fines not exceeding $50,000:

                                                                                                  1. Infringement offences

                                                                                                1. prescribing infringement offences for the purposes of this Act and regulations:
                                                                                                  1. setting the infringement fee payable for an infringement offence, which may not exceed $12,000, and setting different infringement fees for different infringement offences or in respect of different persons or individuals:
                                                                                                    1. prescribing the form of infringement notices and infringement offence reminder notices:

                                                                                                        1. Fees and charges

                                                                                                      1. prescribing fees or charges for doing any act or providing any service for the purposes of this Act or regulations, including—
                                                                                                        1. prescribing the circumstances and way in which fees or charges can be refunded, waived, or reduced:
                                                                                                          1. specifying the method or methods by which fees and charges may be recovered:

                                                                                                            2. Forms

                                                                                                          2. prescribing the information that must be contained in forms for the purposes of this Act:

                                                                                                              1. General

                                                                                                            1. providing for any matters contemplated by this Act, necessary for its administration, or necessary for giving it full effect.

                                                                                                              1. If an exemption is provided under subsection (1)(q), the reasons for it must be set out in the explanatory note of the regulations.

                                                                                                              2. Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

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                                                                                                              Notes
                                                                                                              • Section 211(3): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).