Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
On this page:
HSWA is New Zealand's workplace health and safety law and sets out the principles, duties and rights in relation to health and safety. Regardless of who you are, we want you to understand what it means for you.
Maritime New Zealand administers HSWA and associated regulations for work on board ships, where ships are places of work and at major ports.
You can see all of HSWA on the New Zealand Legislation website.
Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Depending on the industry you work in, there may be additional requirements around health and safety – for example, if you work aboard a ship the Maritime Transport Act 1994 requires the ship to have a maritime operator safety system (MOSS).
There are also regulations associated with HSWA that apply in many or all workplaces. For example, the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 apply in all workplaces, and the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 apply in workplaces where someone finds asbestos.
WorkSafe NZ is the main regulator of HSWA and its related regulations.
From 1 July 2024, Maritime New Zealand is responsible for enforcing HSWA:
- On board ships and where ships are places of work
- On New Zealand’s 13 major ports.
What HSWA does
HSWA sets out principles, duties and rights in relation to workplace health and safety.
HSWA recognises that everyone – government, businesses and workers – must participate in the health and safety system to allow it to function well.
A guiding principle of HSWA is that workers and others need to be given the highest level of protection from workplace health and safety risks that is reasonable.
On this page you will find links to general guidance about HSWA that apply to the maritime sector.
Links to related pages
For information about HSWA requirements for worker engagement, participation and representation, go to our WEPR page.
Links to publications
This publication gives information about how to identify hazards and complete a risk assessment under HSWA.
Hazards and risks - HSWA guidance [613kB, 8 pages]This guidance gives information about how you can make sure you fulfil any upstream duties you may have under HSWA.
Upstream duties - HSWA [PDF: 472kB, 9 pages]PCBUs have a duty to provide and maintain a safe and healthy working environment with adequate facilities for workers. This guidance outlines what facilities PCBUs are required to provide.
Duty to provide adequate facilities [90kB, 3 pages]If there is any chance that there is asbestos present in a workplace, the PCBU must keep workers safe from it. This guidance outlines what you must do in relation to asbestos
Duty to safely manage asbestos [88kB, 4 pages]For more information on the WorkSafe ACOP Management and removal of asbestos
This document talks about officers and how they must exercise due diligence in the running of the PCBU they are an officer of.
Officers' due dilligence duties [83kB, 2 pages]