The HSE/HSNO/IPRC Acts Interface Project

Summary Released

A summary of findings from the “interface project” on health and safety legislation is now available.

The document provides feedback and sets out ways that the four agencies involved will improve the “fit” between different pieces of health and safety legislation and ease compliance for businesses. It has been sent to 380 employer and stakeholder groups who were consulted or asked for comment at the end of last year.

The three pieces of legislation concerned are:

• the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
• the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996
• the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001

Improving the interface between these pieces of law was singled out as an area of special attention by the Minister of Commerce and for Small Business, Hon Lianne Dalziel as part of a broader government Review of Regulatory Frameworks (or Quality Regulation Review). The intention of both reviews is to ensure that current regulatory requirements are not unnecessarily getting in the way of businesses doing business.

The Department of Labour, Accident Compensation Corporation, Environment Risk Management Agency New Zealand, the Ministry for the Environment, and more recently the Civil Aviation Authority and the Maritime New Zealand, have all participated in the project. The Department of Labour provided the lead and convened an interagency working group.

A key aim has been to hear and understand businesses’ needs and concerns, with particular attention given to smaller businesses. The working group was also keen to hear any ideas for improvement.

How consultation happened

The views of employers, stakeholders and other agencies were sought in three ways:

• a questionnaire and general call for submissions from businesses and industry groups
• meetings with specific industry reference groups
• input from other forms of consultation contributing to the Review of Regulatory Frameworks e.g. the Review of Regulatory Frameworks website

The working group also sought input from operational staff in different agencies, and have used the findings of reviews of existing processes.

What businesses said

The feedback document describes three main concerns of business:

• Information is neither easily accessible nor comprehensive, particularly for small businesses
• The requirements for businesses to manage particular hazards are complex and numerous
• Agency processes and interactions with businesses are not co-ordinated.

What we concluded that businesses want:

From the comments received, the project concluded there are three broad improvements that businesses would like from agencies:

• Make all guidance material user-friendly
• Provide comprehensive information on all requirements
• Be more customer focused.

The document sets out more specific proposals for improving alignment and information provision. There are two categories of response: initiatives that agencies will do right away, and areas for improvement that will be addressed progressively.

Businesses, stakeholders and field staff are being asked to provide any further comment on these areas of improvement.

You can view the submissions document online or download as a PDF [pdf 16 pages, 360 KB]

If you would like printed copies of the feedback document, or you would like to discuss the project please contact:

Bob White
Senior Policy Analyst (Health and Safety)
Workplace Policy Group
ph 04 915 4369
bob.white@dol.govt.nz

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