The Bill passed its third reading on 1 July 2026, marking the largest overhaul of workplace safety rules since the 2015 Act was written in the wake of the Pike River mine explosion which killed 29 men on the West Coast in 2010. This Bill was championed by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden, who described the changes as restoring "clarity, common sense, and focus" by directing attention to the risks that matter most.
Key changes:
- Critical risk focus — the central shift is a focus on "critical risk," defined as a hazard likely to cause death, notifiable injury, illness, or occupational disease. Larger PCBUs still have a duty to manage all risks, but critical risks must be prioritised, rather than treating every minor hazard the same way.
- Lighter touch for small business — small businesses (PCBU with less than 20 staff) will be expected to manage critical risks and keep providing basic worker welfare facilities like toilets and drinking water, but with fewer compliance obligations.
- Approved Codes of Practice — the role of Approved Codes of Practice is strengthened so businesses have clearer guidance to follow, giving a "deemed compliance" pathway.
- Director duties narrowed — the duties of company directors are narrowed so they focus on governance rather than day-to-day operations.
- WorkSafe prioritisation — the regulator WorkSafe is directed to prioritise critical risks.
- Landowner liability — the Bill limits liability for landowners who allow recreational access to their land, a response to concerns raised after the Whakaari/White Island prosecution.
Timing twist: The law was originally due to commence 1 November 2026, just before the general election. That's been pushed back to 1 April 2027, giving the incoming government a window to make further changes before businesses must comply. Labour has vowed to repeal it if it wins the November election, calling it "an absolute horror of a bill", and New Zealand First has signalled it wants to revisit parts of the bill post-election.
Reaction: Business groups have broadly welcomed the reset, having long argued the 2015 law pushed firms into box-ticking and over-documentation without making anyone safer. Critics like Civil Contractors NZ have objected that tying obligations to headcount rather than hazard is a blunt instrument — noting a 21-person accounting firm would face full obligations while a 19-person abseiling company managing rockfall risk would not.