WorkSafe has developed infographics on psychosocial risks in the high-risk sectors of agriculture, construction, forestry, and manufacturing, as well as psychosocial risks that affect all New Zealand workers.
Mental health is an important workplace health and safety issue. Businesses have a responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act to manage both physical and psychosocial risks.
Psychosocial risks arise from poor work design and challenges in the social and physical environment, and they may result in negative psychological, physical, and social outcomes.
These infographics help businesses to easily find and understand data on psychosocial risks relevant to their industry. Sharing information like this is part of our engagement function, to empower businesses and workers to improve health and safety practice.
The infographics collate existing data into an easily digestible format. The data is from WorkSafe’s workforce segmentation and insights surveys, New Zealand psychosocial survey, work-related suicide report, and mentally healthy work concerns notified to WorkSafe.
The following information is available about each sector:
Psychological harm
Self-rated health
Work-related suicides and significant work-related stressors
Offensive behaviours such as bullying and threats of violence
Policies around bullying, harassment, and violence
Protective factors
Mentally healthy work concerns that WorkSafe has received
Employer attitudes
Employers’ health and safety maturity, perceptions, and practices.
WorkSafe New Zealand welcomes Corey Sinclair as its new Deputy Chief Executive – Corporate. Corey started with WorkSafe on Wednesday 22 January.
As Deputy Chief Executive – Corporate, Corey leads the design and delivery of our commercial investment and people strategies, to help enable WorkSafe to deliver our statement of intent and create a work environment that is consistent with our values.
“Corey brings many years of senior leadership experience from working in the public service, banking and finance sectors. We are delighted to have him join the leadership team at WorkSafe,” says Chief Executive Sharon Thompson.
Corey also has executive leadership credentials from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, Accelerate Strategic, and the University of Auckland.
Corey joins WorkSafe from a secondment role at the Crown Response Office, where he led in the Crown’s response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions. Prior to that, Corey had senior leadership roles at Inland Revenue, where he transformed services delivered to customers and stakeholders across Aotearoa.
He is passionate about business transformation, diversity and inclusion, and leadership development. As a proud Kiwi-Samoan leader, Corey strives to serve the public interest and achieve positive outcomes for all New Zealanders.
Corey says, “I’m excited to join the WorkSafe team. While I’m conscious of the considerable change the organisation and kaimahi have been through, I’m looking forward to supporting the new strategy and plans in place.”
AI technology with real time hazard alerts is central to a new safety commitment WorkSafe New Zealand has accepted from the well-known household brand, Ecostore.
It comes after a worker suffered chemical burns to his eyes while making dishwasher powder in March 2023. The worker was injured while trying to shut off a pressurised hose that had come loose and was spraying hazardous liquid into the air at Ecostore’s factory in Pakuranga, Auckland.
WorkSafe investigated and found an inadequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly eyewear, staff training gaps for chemical handling, and lack of emergency management.
In response to the incident Ecostore is making what it calls an “holistic cultural shift” on health and safety worth over $323,000. The company applied to WorkSafe for an enforceable undertaking, which is a binding commitment to bring about health and safety improvements. It includes:
Installation of CCTV systems incorporating AI technology to identify situations or events that could indicate risks to workers’ health and safety.
A new working platform for liquids manufacturing, and other new controls to minimise workers’ exposure to risk and improve health outcomes.
Reparation to the victim.
Funding a pilot programme by Blind Low Vision NZ to educate and support businesses employing visually impaired staff, with a focus on workplace health and safety, inclusion, and wellbeing.
Development and delivery of a webinar with the Employers and Manufacturers Association, highlighting the incident and key learnings.
“Businesses must manage their risks and chemical safety is non-negotiable. We are pleased to see Ecostore putting things right and being a change-maker in the manufacturing and distribution sector,” says WorkSafe’s regulatory support manager, Mark Horgan.
WorkSafe will regularly monitor progress on the agreed commitments and can resume prosecution of Ecostore if necessary.
“Ecostore’s investment exceeds what even the courts may have ordered in penalties. This demonstrates a substantial commitment to health and safety, with benefits circled back to the community, workers, and industry,” says Mark Horgan.
Manufacturing is one of New Zealand’s most dangerous sectors, which is why it’s a focus of WorkSafe’s new strategy. Our priority plan for manufacturing notes exposure to hazardous substances as a specific source of high harm. WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe.
Statement from Ecostore’s Group Chief Operating Officer, Tony Acland
Safety is a cornerstone of Ecostore and we deeply regret the serious harm experienced on our site. We acknowledge the professional and personal impact such an experience has on an individual, as well as the wider team.
We recognise the importance of going beyond just compliance, and we take our responsibility to ensure the health and safety of our employees incredibly seriously. We are committed to continuous improvement in this space and have already implemented numerous advancements. We also offer an anonymous reporting channel so our team can feel empowered to share all concerns.
Ecostore sees the Enforceable Undertaking not only as an opportunity to improve our processes but as a chance to contribute to industry-wide, best-practice policy that improves the safety of everyone working in manufacturing. We will also engage with Blind Low Vision NZ to support visually impaired workers in finding pathways into productive work with a focus on their wellbeing and safety.
As a New Zealand business, we are dedicated to maintaining our high standards of safety for all of Aotearoa and are hopeful that sharing our health and safety learnings with other manufacturers will have a real impact on raising awareness and improving the culture in similar workplaces.
Businesses that use scissor lifts should take a fresh look at safety, after a worker fell from height and died over the holiday period.
Jun Jiang suffered a fall from a scissor lift in Auckland on 28 December 2024, and died days later in hospital. We’re now investigating how this happened.
Scissor lifts, also known as mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs), are useful but complex pieces of equipment often used for access in hazardous areas. Operators must be trained and competent before using a MEWP and must follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions. They must also use safe working practices and operate the MEWP within its limits.
“If you have a scissor lift on your worksite, now is a good time to review what it’s used for and capable of. Re-familiarise yourself with the manufacturer’s instructions, check tasks are appropriate for the platform, ensure risk assessments and standard operating procedures are relevant, and ensure staff are trained and competent to use the equipment,” says WorkSafe’s area investigation manager, Danielle Henry.
The causes of elevated work platform injuries and deaths investigated by WorkSafe include:
not following the manufacturer’s recommendations
inadequate training and supervision
equipment failure
not fully assessing the hazards and risks of the job, site, and equipment.
Boom lifts and vertical lifts are the two basic types of MEWPs. Both can help workers reach elevated areas but have very different capabilities. Businesses must choose the best platform for the task, given the type of work and the work environment. The work needs to be properly planned and hazards and risks managed at the worksite.
WorkSafe’s good practice guidelines outline when harnesses are required for work in mobile elevating work platforms.
Recently, we visited a panel beater in Hamilton that was operating with some poor practices. Our inspector Thomas worked with the business owners to make some changes.
“They’ve made positive changes, including small, low-cost ones such as changing where they work to be more in the open air, how they store the paints and chemicals, and protecting power points and exposed power supplies from being potential sources of ignition,” said Thomas.
We’re grateful that the business owners were honest about what their knowledge gaps were and open to working with us to make their work safer.
We’re not always going to visit a business and demand major, high-cost changes. Often, you can improve the safety of a business with a few small, targeted changes. Part of what our inspectors do is offer their expertise to work with businesses to make improvements.
We know it can be daunting when we visit your business but at the end of the day, we all have the same goal – to make sure you make it home safely from work.
“They really want this business to be a success and as part of that they really want to look after their own health and safety. It’s a really great result.”
WorkSafe is urging businesses to prioritise safety near overhead electric lines, after three companies were sentenced within the last week for incidents that killed or injured workers.
In the most severe case a labourer, Sean Clear, was electrocuted while working on a farm near Whakapapa Village in February 2023. His mower had become bogged down, and a digger brought in to extract it contacted an overhead line carrying electricity at 33,000 volts. As Mr Clear was steadying the mower for extraction, the electricity passed through the digger’s arm and into the 25-year-old Irish national, causing his death.
WorkSafe’s investigation found the employer, Coogan Contracting, failed to carry out a risk assessment to identify the overhead power lines as a hazard and have a spotter in place to ensure the lines were not contacted.
Just three months later in May 2023 on Waiheke Island, Emmett Holmes-O’Connor was working on scaffolding that had been installed too close to power lines. Aluminium cladding he was carrying touched the high voltage 11kV line, inflicting an electric shock that caused him to fall backwards nearly four metres off the scaffold. The 31-year-old received major burns to his hand and foot, along with fractures to his spine and ribs.
There was no close approach consent for the work, which is required when work is being done near overhead powerlines, nor a proper risk assessment of the dangers. After an investigation, WorkSafe charged both the employer Joan Carpenters Limited, and the scaffolding company Church Bay Services Limited, for their health and safety failures.
“Both cases are an horrific reminder of just how dangerous it can be when businesses do not take enough care with working around power lines. Businesses must manage their risks and where they don’t, we will take action,” says WorkSafe’s area investigation manager, Danielle Henry.
“Anyone working in or around electricity, especially high voltage lines, needs to be aware of the specific mandated requirements for working near powerlines. The local lines company may require a close approach consent application, to ensure the work is conducted safely. Do not start work before you check for consent.”
Construction and agriculture are two of New Zealand’s most dangerous sectors, which is why they are a focus of WorkSafe’s new strategy. WorkSafe’s targeted frontline activities will be increasing in both sectors as there are opportunities to significantly improve health and safety performance, reduce acute and chronic harm, and address inequities.
Coogan Contracting was sentenced at Taumarunui District Court on 18 December 2024
Reparations of $100,000 were ordered. The fine was reduced to $25,000 due to financial capacity.
Coogan Contracting was charged under sections 36(1)(a), 48(1) and 2(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Being a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, including Sean Clear, while the workers were at work in the business or undertaking, namely assisting with the recovery of a tractor and mower, did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed the workers to a risk of death or serious injury
The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.
Church Bay Services Limited (CBSL) and Joan Carpenters Limited (JCL) were sentenced at Auckland District Court on 12 December 2024.
JCL was fined $16,500 and CBSL was fined $13,500.
Reparations of $42,818 were split between both JCL and CBSL.
JCL was charged under sections 36(1)(a) and 48(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Being a PCBU, having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, including Emmett Holmes- O’Connor, while the workers are at work in the business or undertaking, namely carrying out construction work (including cladding installation), did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed the workers, including Emmett Holmes-O’Connor, to a risk of death or serious injury from electrocution or electric shock from the high voltage overhead power lines at 17 Coromandel Road.
CBSL was charged under sections 43(2)(b) and 48(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Being a PCBU, having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the way in which plant or a structure, namely a scaffold, is installed, constructed or commissioned ensures that the plant or structure is without risks to the health and safety of persons who use the plant or structure for a purpose for which it is installed, constructed or commissioned, did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed persons, including Emmett Holmes-O’Connor, to a risk of death or serious injury from electrocution or electric shock from the high voltage overhead power lines at 17 Coromandel Road.
The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.
After working with industry, we’ve set a number of new restricted entry intervals (REIs) for pesticides. These will come into force on 10 June 2025 to give PCBUs and suppliers time to adapt to the new REIs.
REIs are the length of time people are not allowed in an area where a pesticide has been applied unless they are wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). This protects workers and others from being exposed to harmful levels of pesticides through contact with skin and inhalation. They are determined by the type of crop, the maturity of the crop, and the amount of contact a person may have with the foliage after pesticide application. For this reason, REIs for the same pesticide can differ between crops.
Alongside these new REIs, we have published a quick guide which outlines what a PCBU is required to do when using pesticides with REIs. This guide covers how to determine which PPE is appropriate for different activities, cleaning PPE, and signage.
WorkSafe New Zealand is moving forward with organisational changes to deliver its strategy.
“We are increasing our frontline services, which includes investing an additional $2.7 million annually into growing our inspectorate. In turn, we are simplifying our structure, reducing some non-frontline roles, and ensuring all roles are clearly linked to strategic delivery,” says WorkSafe’s Chief Executive Sharon Thompson.
Feedback on the change proposal has been under consideration since mid-November, following a consultation period with WorkSafe’s kaimahi and stakeholders.
WorkSafe currently has 704 permanent roles. Following decisions, there will be 675 permanent roles, which includes growing our inspectorate over time.
“Our strategy involves a mix of enforcement, engagement, and permitting activities, with a targeted focus on high-risk sectors and high-risk work,” says Sharon.
This requires a shift in how roles and resources will be allocated in the new structure.
WorkSafe’s allocated budget is less than the last financial year, due to the end of some time-limited and ACC funding.
Expressions of interest will open prior to Christmas to redeploy current kaimahi where possible into roles in the new structure, which takes effect at the end of March 2025.
