Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Health and safety at work - Application of Act

5: Application of Act to the Crown

You could also call this:

“How the Health and Safety at Work Act applies to the government”

This law applies to the Crown, which means the government. It says that the government must follow the rules in this Act.

Some parts of the government, called Crown organisations, are treated as if they are separate from the rest of the government when it comes to following this law. These organisations can be a PCBU, which means they can be responsible for health and safety at work.

Other parts of the government that are not Crown organisations are not treated as separate. They cannot be a PCBU on their own.

There’s another part of this law, called section 6, that might change how this part works. You need to look at that section too to understand everything.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6544101.

Topics:

Work and jobs > Workplace safety

Government and voting > Government departments

4: Transitional, savings, and related provisions, or

“Rules for managing changes to the law”

6: Enforcement of Act against the Crown, or

“How the Act applies to government organisations”

Part 1 Health and safety at work
Application of Act

5Application of Act to the Crown

This Act binds the Crown.
An instrument of the Crown that is a Crown organisation (whether or not a body corporate)—
must be treated as if it were a separate legal personality for the purpose of complying with this Act; and
may be a PCBU in its own right.

An instrument of the Crown that is not a Crown organisation or a body corporate—
does not have separate legal personality; and
may not be a PCBU in its own right.

This section is subject to section 6.

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