New guidance is plugging a critical gap for businesses which use transport trailers to shift heavy machinery, thanks to an agreement overseen by WorkSafe New Zealand.

Courts have imposed more than $800,000 in penalties since mid-March, in response to workers being killed on unsafe conveyor belts in the manufacturing industry.

As a WorkSafe prosecution comes to a close, two workers overcome by fumes from a toxic gas pit have for the first time told of their experience of narrowly dodging death.

At WorkSafe New Zealand, our inspectors manage a diverse range of tasks, ensuring that no two days are ever the same.

Concerns about road cone use anywhere in New Zealand can now be reported to WorkSafe New Zealand through a new digital hotline on the WorkSafe website.

Read our latest high hazards newsletter including, Natech guidance for senior leaders, how to use the quantity-ratio sum (QRS), the role and limitations of consequence modelling, and tips for consulting emergency services and government agencies about emergency response plans.

WorkSafe is improving its approach to developing, maintaining, and sharing guidance to make sure businesses have the information they need to manage their biggest health and safety risks.​

Check out our new tools for musculoskeletal risks, new hazardous substances guidance, and related media releases, publications, conferences, and events.

There's a scam email going around that appears to be from WorkSafe and says you owe money for overdue fees.

A quad bike rollover which cost a Tararua farmhand his life could have been avoided if the farm manager had kept the bike in good working order, WorkSafe New Zealand says.

AI-driven hazard detection is coming to timber manufacturing, thanks to a new agreement worth nearly half a million dollars between WorkSafe New Zealand and a major player in the wood processing industry.

As winter creeps closer, WorkSafe New Zealand is reminding businesses to take heed of the risks when workers are operating at height.

WorkSafe has created new guidance to help adventure activity operators and outdoor recreation providers manage risks from natural hazards such as flooding, landslips, and snowfall.

This safety alert highlights the serious health and safety risks for workers when using safety net systems that may not have been tested to a recognised standard by an accredited testing body.

Basic machine safety failures culminated in the death of a worker at one of New Zealand’s biggest fertiliser companies where obvious risks were overlooked, WorkSafe says.

Solid ethics and legal compliance must underpin the asbestos industry, WorkSafe New Zealand says, after an unlicensed asbestos remover was sentenced for pocketing more than $20,000 by misrepresenting his employer.

WorkSafe New Zealand has opened its first intake of health and safety inspectors for 2025, and is keen to hear from anyone with an interest in making workplaces safer in Aotearoa.

This technical bulletin provides guidance about the work trainee divers may undertake while under direct supervision during occupational diving operations.

A forestry subcontractor was failed by poor risk management from the two businesses above him, both of which have been sentenced for their inaction.

Read our latest high hazards newsletter where we’re covering industry alerts on floating roof tank corrosion and critical fastener material selection, what we’re seeing with RPE and machine guarding failures, and a reminder to think about your lock out/tag out system.

From April there will be a new way of doing a SafePlus self-assessment.

Old equipment repurposed by businesses must be safe to use, WorkSafe New Zealand says, following sentencing of a Rotorua company whose modified crane became a weapon that changed the life of a teenage contractor.

Check out the latest guidance and resources, and a number of upcoming courses and conferences to help you ensure a healthy and safe work environment for you and your workers.

WorkSafe New Zealand is calling on farmers to consider how vehicles move inside their barns and sheds, following a sentencing for an horrific death at one of South Canterbury’s biggest agribusinesses.

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.

WorkSafe welcomes Corey Sinclair as its new Deputy Chief Executive – Corporate. Corey started with WorkSafe on Wednesday 22 January.

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.

Businesses that use scissor lifts should take a fresh look at safety, after a worker fell from height and died over the holiday period.

Welcome to the latest edition of Kanohi Kitea, our health and safety representatives (HSR) e-newsletter.

Our inspector Thomas recently worked with a panel beater in Hamilton to make improvements to their health and safety processes.

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.

After working with industry, we’ve set a number of new REIs for pesticides. These will come into force on 10 June 2025 to give PCBUs and suppliers time to adapt to the new REIs.

WorkSafe New Zealand is moving forward with organisational changes to deliver its strategy.

Read about the updated timeframe for revoking 2001 notices, retaining access to gas and electrical certificates, and preventing the fatal risk of ovens tipping over.

Leptospirosis is the most common work-related infectious disease in New Zealand. See our updated guidance for practical suggestions to manage the risks to protect people from getting sick.

Including an update from the Chief Inspector, recent electric shock incidents, and a new resource for warehouses.

This Asbestos Awareness Week we sat down with Garrett Davidson, the Operations Manager at The Floor Store Commercial, to talk about how they tackle asbestos.

WorkSafe is again urging the forestry sector to reflect on what more it can do to improve safety, as the details of yet another worker death emerge from a court prosecution.

Read our November 2024 work-related health newsletter

Nine tonnes of badly loaded steel fell and killed a Christchurch man, in what WorkSafe New Zealand says is a stark warning to any business that uses storage racks or shelving as part of its operations.