Business Canterbury welcomes health and safety changes

Business Canterbury welcomes health and safety changes

Business Canterbury welcomes today's announcement by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Hon Brooke van Velden, that will see significant reforms to health and safety legislation, providing much-needed red tape relief for businesses across Canterbury.

Business Canterbury Chief Executive, Leeann Watson says, "The reforms represent the most substantial changes to health and safety since the current legislation was enacted in 2015, with a shift towards focusing on critical risks rather than requiring businesses to address all potential risks regardless of likelihood or severity."

"The carve-out for small business and a refocus on critical risks are significant steps forward and appropriately use the levers available to government to right-size the rules and enhance health and safety outcomes.

"It has always been a bit of a headscratcher that small, low risk businesses need to operate using the same principles and rules as large industrial businesses. This has led to complexity and confusion that costs time, energy and money for businesses - without necessarily enhancing safety outcomes.

"Many businesses feel like they need to have pages and pages of risks in a register to comply with the law - many of which are then impossible to prioritise, or even remember, amongst management and staff.

"Not all risks have huge consequences on safety and these changes go further in clarifying what is required by businesses. This allows them to really focus their time and energy, and their employees time and energy, on the risks that do have severe consequences.

Another key issue raised during Business Canterbury’s recent session with members and the Minister was the role of WorkSafe as the primary health and safety regulator.

"The overwhelming feedback from our members was that WorkSafe's advisory role should take precedence over its inspectorate or enforcement functions.

"Businesses want to keep their teams safe and are looking for clear, actionable advice from regulators on what is 'practicable'."

We look forward to further engagement with the Government to make these changes in addition to those announced today.