Hon Brooke van
Velden
Minister for Workplace Relations and
Safety
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke
van Velden welcomes a Site Safe survey released today that
shows the Government’s health and safety reforms are
fixing what matters in the construction
industry.
“From the start, I’ve known that
delivering on the ACT-National coalition commitment to
reform health and safety meant getting out of Wellington and
listening to the public. I wanted to understand how the
current system works for them and what they want to see in
this reform that will make their work safer,” says Ms van
Velden.
“I am pleased to see overwhelming support
from the construction sector for the reform’s increased
focus on guidance and critical risks. Feedback that industry
professionals believe this will help improve health and
safety outcomes in a high-risk sector shows we have listened
to people on the ground to make meaningful
changes.”
The results show:
- 95% want
clearer guidance to support reform - 95% back greater
use of Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) - 85%
support a stronger focus on critical risks - 79% want
clearer definitions of roles and
responsibilities - 69% support changes to how
enforcement works.
“It is not surprising to
see such high levels of support for improving guidance and
the use of ACOPs. That is why I have asked WorkSafe to
prioritise improving its provision of guidance, including
around prequalification, so that businesses understand when
and how they need to work together to manage
risks.
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“I am also introducing changes to health and
safety legislation to clarify that if you comply with an
ACOP, you have fulfilled your health and safety obligations.
Rather than having WorkSafe lead this process exclusively,
these changes will allow individuals and groups, such as
industry organisations, to initiate work on ACOPs to speed
things up and ensure they reflect what will work in practice
and what makes sense for those who deal with these risks
every day.
“WorkSafe has hit the ground running
working with industry to develop an ACOP on clarifying
overlapping duties in construction, which I know is an area
the sector would like to see prioritised.
“During
consultation on health and safety reforms, I prioritised
going out across the country and hearing from Kiwis who deal
with health and safety rules firsthand about the issues they
have with the system, and areas they most want to see
improvements. It was from this direct feedback that I’ve
chosen where to focus efforts to reform the
system.
“The industry is asking for clarity and
practicality, and that is what I’m delivering. These
reforms will make it easier for workers and employers to
prioritise the right actions to protect them from harm and
know where their attention should be to keep themselves and
their workmates safe,” says Ms van
Velden.
Notes:
- Site Safe
is the construction industry’s national health and safety
organisation, representing more than 6,000 member businesses
and training around 78,000 workers each
year. - Prequalification is a common way construction
businesses check if a company or contractor is ready and
able to do a construction job safely, before they’re
allowed to bid for or start work. Prequalifications are also
often used by businesses outside of the construction sector
– for example, local councils using them for
groundskeeping tenders. However, prequalifications are most
prominently used in the construction industry. - The
Site Safe survey and press release can be found here: https://www.sitesafe.org.nz/media/documents/2025_Health_and_Safety_Reforms_Survey_Report_Digital.pdf
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