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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Health and safety at work - General provisions

29: Insurance against fines unlawful

You could also call this:

“Businesses and individuals cannot use insurance to pay health and safety fines”

You cannot have insurance that pays for your fines or infringement fees under the Health and Safety at Work Act. If you have an insurance policy that says it will pay these fines, that part of the policy doesn’t work. No court can make the insurance company pay these fines for you.

You are not allowed to make or offer an insurance policy that pays for these fines. You can’t offer to pay someone else’s fines, and you can’t let someone else pay your fines. You also can’t give or receive money to cover these fines.

If you break these rules, you’re committing an offence. If you’re caught, you could be fined. If you’re an individual, you could be fined up to $50,000. If you’re a company or organisation, you could be fined up to $250,000.

These rules are part of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. They make sure that people and companies take responsibility for following health and safety rules, instead of relying on insurance to pay their fines if they break the rules.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6375600.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights Work and jobs > Workplace safety Business > Industry rules Money and consumer rights > Insurance
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Part 1 Health and safety at work
General provisions

29Insurance against fines unlawful

  1. To the extent that an insurance policy or a contract of insurance indemnifies or purports to indemnify a person for the person's liability to pay a fine or infringement fee under this Act,—

  2. the policy or contract is of no effect; and
    1. no court or tribunal has jurisdiction to grant relief in respect of the policy or contract, whether under sections 75 to 82 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 or otherwise.

      1. A person must not—

      2. enter into, or offer to enter into, a policy or contract described in subsection (1); or
        1. indemnify, or offer to indemnify, another person for the other person's liability to pay a fine or an infringement fee under this Act; or
          1. be indemnified, or agree to be indemnified, by another person for that person's liability to pay a fine or an infringement fee under this Act; or
            1. pay to another person, or receive from another person, an indemnity for a fine or an infringement fee under this Act.

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

              2. for an individual, to a fine not exceeding $50,000:
                1. for any other person, to a fine not exceeding $250,000.

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                  Notes
                  • Section 29(1)(b): amended, on , by section 347 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 (2017 No 5).