• NOHSAC Profile
• Authors and Acknowledgements
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• List of Acronyms
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Occupational Health and Safety in New Zealand
• Stakeholder Concerns
  • Lack of support and guidance for workplaces
  • Resourcing to prevent work-related injury and disease appears to be insufficient when compared to the total cost of such injury and disease
  • Gaps in education and training
  • Issues and problems with collaboration and leadership in occupational health and safety
  • Workforce
  • ACC incentive programmes
  • Surveillance
  • Research
• National Profiles of Occupational Health and Safety in Five Countries (United Kingdom, United States of America, Finland, Canada, Australia)
• Lessons and Conclusions
• Recommendations
• References
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Appendix 3

Stakeholder Concerns

During consultation with stakeholders, several concerns were identified in relation to occupational health and safety in New Zealand. (A list of key stakeholders consulted is listed in Appendix 1). These comments are summarised in the following section.

Lack of Support and Guidance for Workplaces

• There are gaps in the guidance material that supports compliance with the performance-based framework and in the resources to support such a framework (for example, the approved codes of practice are not always up to date, and some are inconsistent with current best practice). The following table outlines the current approved codes of practice issued by the Department of Labour, date of publication and scheduled review dates.

TABLE 5	Current HSE approved codes of practice
Title		Date of Publication	Scheduled Review Date
Forestry
ACOP for health and safety in tree work – Part 1 (Arboriculture)		1994	Under review
ACOP for health and safety in tree work – Part 2 (Maintenance of trees around power lines)		1996	Under review
ACOP for health and safety in tree work – Part 3 (River and stream operations)		1998	Not stated
ACOP for forest operations – Part 5 (Timber stacking, packeting and transportation)		1994	Under review
ACOP for health and safety in forest operations		1999 Reviewed: 2005	Not stated
ACOP for helicopter logging		2001	Not stated
Industrial processes
ACOP for safety in photoengraving and lithographic processes		1993	Not stated
ACOP for the prevention, detection and control of fire and explosion in New Zealand dairy industry spray drying plant		1993	Not stated
Machinery
ACOP for the design, safe operation, maintenance and servicing of boilers		1996 Reviewed: 2000 2004	2005
ACOP for roll over protective structures on tractors in agricultural operations		2001 Reviewed: 2004	Under review
ACOP for the design, manufacture, supply, safe operation, maintenance and inspection of cranes		2001	Under review
ACOP for training operators and instructors of powered industrial forklifts		1995	Under review
ACOP for passenger ropeways in New Zealand		1998 Reviewed: 2003	Not stated
ACOP for pressure equipment (excluding boilers)		2001	Not stated
ACOP for load-lifting rigging		2001	Not stated
ACOP for power-operated elevating work platforms		1995	2005
Construction and building maintenance
ACOP for operator protective structures on self-propelled mobile mechanical plant		1999	Under review
ACOP for power-actuated hand-held fastening tools		1995	Under review (revocation)
ACOP for the safe erection and use of scaffolding		1995	Under review (revocation)
ACOP for the safe handling, transportation and erection of pre-cast concrete		2002	Not stated
Mining
ACOP for the prevention of sulphur fires and explosions		1993	Not stated
Chemicals
ACOP for the management of substances hazardous to health in the place of work		1997	Under review
ACOP for the safe use of timber preservatives and anti-sapstain chemicals		1994	Not stated
ACOP for health and safety in the manufacture of paint, printing inks and resins		1993	Not stated
ACOP for the safe use of isocyanates		1994	Not stated
General
ACOP for the safe use of visual display units in the place of work		1995	Under review
ACOP for the management of noise in the workplace		1996 Reviewed: 2002	Not stated
Source: This information was sourced from an internal Department of Labour paper.

• Responsible agencies need to prioritise the development of resources to assist duty holders in complying with the performance-based approach of the legislative framework.
• There are some interface issues between the HSE and HSNO Acts (particularly in relation to differing applications of the performance approach, and to duplication of material that assists duty holders to comply under both Acts).
• The compliance costs associated with the performance-based framework do not fall equally on all businesses, with small businesses (less than 10 employees) likely to bear greater costs per person than larger businesses.
• The content of publications needs to be simple, accessible and appropriate to the target audience.

ISSN 1177-2239
ISBN 978-0-478-28119-4

This document is available on NOHSAC’s website www.nohsac.govt.nz. It can be freely quoted, copied and circulated with appropriate acknowledgement. The suggested citation is: Pearce N, Dryson E, Gander P, Langley J, Wagstaffe M. National profile of occupational health and safety in New Zealand. Report to the Minister of Labour. NOHSAC: Wellington, 2007.