Adventure Activities - Regulations, Guidance and Notification Process
New regulations governing the commercial adventure activities industry came into effect from November 1, 2011 and are currently being fully implemented.
The Health and Safety in Employment (Adventure Activities) Regulations 2011 aim to address safety gaps identified in the Adventure Tourism Review to help keep New Zealanders and overseas tourists safe.
The Regulations require all operators who provide activities that are designed to deliberately expose participants to a risk of serious harm to undergo a safety audit by a recognised auditor and be registered.
The regulations cover many paid adventure activities, although activities run by sports clubs and schools are excluded from the regulations in most circumstances, as are events run by sports clubs or recreation clubs, or associations representing sports clubs or recreation clubs for the purposes of competition. They also do not apply to operators who provide activities that are not taught or guided.
Guidance for Adventure Activity Operators
The guidance for operators has been developed to ensure that operators fully understand the regulations and how they apply to their activities.
Specifically, it provides clarification around the Ministry's interpretations of the regulations and to help operators to understand the regulations.
- Health & Safety in Employment (Adventure Activities) Regulations 2011: Guidance for operators
- Guidance for Managing Drug and Alcohol-Related Risks in Adventure Activities
Notification Process for Adventure Activity Operators
All operators must submit a notification regarding certain information about their businesses to enable the Ministry to compile a database of adventure activity operators that are covered by the regulations and to record which of those operators do not hold a current safety audit certificate.
The Ministry has the authority to request operators that do not hold a current safety audit certificate to obtain one.
The easiest way to give written notice to the Secretary of Labour is to submit an online notification form.
Please note that notifying the Ministry about your business is not the same as registering your business. Registration of your business happens automatically after you have obtained a safety audit from a recognised safety audit provider and you have paid the audit and registration fee to the safety audit provider.
