3 Occupational Health And Safety System
Occupational health and safety systems undertake three core functions:
- The prevention of work-related harm through tools such as imposing duties, setting requirements and providing a range of enforcement options.
- The provision of treatment, rehabilitation and compensation for cases of work-related injury or disease when these occur.
- Education and information to prevent work-related injury and illness.
Section 3 of this report describes the way in which New Zealand provides for these functions. The delivery mechanisms are diverse and the inter-relationships complex. As such, this section is broken into a number of sub-parts which together describe the system:
- 3.1 Principles underpinning New Zealand’s occupational health and safety system
- 3.2 International obligations
- 3.3 Legislative framework
- 3.4 National occupational health and safety budget
- 3.5 The compliance and enforcement system
- 3.6 The rehabilitation and compensation system
- 3.7 The education and information framework
- 3.8 Mechanisms to provide expert advice on occupational health and safety
- 3.9 Collaboration and leadership
- v3.10 The health and safety workforce.
Each sub-part also contains a summary of the issues raised by stakeholders during the key informant interviews.
3.1 Principles underpinning New Zealand’s occupational health and safety system
New Zealand’s occupational health and safety system is underpinned by some key principles:
- Tripartite participation (government, employers and employees)
- A legislative framework of one Act; an administrative framework of one authority
- Application of all practicable steps to ensure the safety of all people in all workplaces
- No-fault rehabilitation and compensation for people harmed in the workplace.
3.1.1 Tripartite principle
New Zealand is a Signatory to ILO Convention 144, which requires that New Zealand maintain effective consultation with the most representative employer and employee organisations. New Zealand currently gives effect to this Convention by holding regular discussions on occupational health and safety issues with the core government agencies and Business New Zealand (the employer representative) and the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) (the employee representative). Plans to formalise this relationship are discussed in section 4.2.2.1 of this report.
3.1.2 One Act, one Authority
The HSE Act implemented a legislative framework of one main, comprehensive Act covering occupational health and safety with compliance and enforcement services delivered primarily through the Department of Labour. This provided a mechanism to ensure that work-related health and safety duties and responsibilities could be applied consistently across all workplaces. However, the historical operation of New Zealand’s occupational health and safety system (as discussed in section 2.4) means that this principle is not strictly adhered to in practice, although this is not necessarily problematic. The operation of the “One Act, One Authority” principle is discussed in further detail in section 3.5.
3.1.3 Application of all practicable steps to ensure the safety of people in workplaces
A key principle underpinning the HSE Act is that all practicable steps must be taken to ensure workplaces are safe for employees, employers and others who may enter. Rather than establishing prescriptive standards that must be met, the Act introduces a performance-based measure, where steps taken to ensure safety must be based on levels of current knowledge. The application of all practicable steps means that hazards and harm are defined, assessed and addressed in a way which mitigates or minimises the potential for harm.
3.1.4 No-fault rehabilitation and compensation
The Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001 (the IPRC Act) sets out New Zealand’s rehabilitation and compensation framework. One of the key principles underpinning this framework is the no-fault cover provided for personal injury for those harmed in the workplace. More information on New Zealand’s injury prevention, compensation and rehabilitation system is included in section 3.6 of this report.
3.1.5 Comments
The principles that underpin New Zealand’s health and safety system are broadly consistent with those identified as underpinning good occupational health and safety practice.xxi