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The biggest change to New Zealand’s health and safety law since 2015 is now confirmed. On 01/07/2026, the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill passed its third and final reading in Parliament. It becomes the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026, and the changes come into force on 1 April 2027.

For the thousands of businesses across Otago and Southland balancing safety with the day to day realities of running a business, this is worth understanding early. Here is what has passed, what it means if you employ a smaller team, and what to do with the time between now and April 2027.

What has changed, and when

The reform is now law, but it does not take effect straight away. The current Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 continues to apply in full until 1 April 2027. That lead in time is deliberate. It gives businesses time to prepare and the regulator time to release supporting guidance, which the Government has said will follow over the coming months.

So there is nothing you have to change today. The value right now is in understanding what is coming and getting ahead of it.

The core idea: focus on the risks that matter most

The reform refocuses the system on critical risks, the things genuinely capable of causing death, serious injury or serious illness. Rather than treating every possible hazard with equal weight, businesses are expected to concentrate their effort where the potential for serious harm is greatest. Alongside that, the changes clarify confusing wording, strengthen the role of approved codes of practice, and sharpen what WorkSafe focuses on.

What it means if you employ fewer than 20 people

This is the change most of our members will feel. The Act creates a category called a small PCBU, a business with fewer than 20 workers. Seasonal operations are covered too, based on the number of workers you reasonably expect across the year.

If you are a small PCBU:

• Your core duties (the primary duty of care and related duties) apply only in relation to critical risks.
• You must continue to provide essential worker welfare facilities.
• You still need to manage the everyday, non-critical risks in your workplace. The difference is that failing to prioritise them is not an offence.

In plain terms: the law expects you to focus your formal effort on the serious things, while still running a sensible, safe operation. It is a narrowing of duties, not a free pass.

A word of caution worth holding onto: the relief depends on correctly identifying what counts as a critical risk in your business. Getting that judgement wrong is where the real exposure sits, so it is worth a conversation with a health and safety adviser if you are unsure.

A clearer definition, and other practical changes

The final Act includes several improvements that make the system more workable:

• Critical risk is clearer. The test asks whether serious harm would result if the risk occurs, rather than how probable the risk is to happen in the first place. That removes a genuine source of confusion.
• Mental health is in scope. Where a workplace hazard could lead to serious harm, harm to mental health can be considered as part of that risk.
• Clearer duties for directors and officers. The line between your governance role and your day to day role in the business is sharper, so directors can focus on governance.
• Approved codes of practice carry more weight. If you follow an approved code’s processes for managing a risk, you can be confident you are meeting your obligations for that risk.
• Less duplication with other rules. Overlap with other regulatory systems has been reduced to make compliance simpler.
• Clearer serious-incident reporting. Requirements for reporting serious incidents have been tidied up.
• Two targeted exceptions. Relief around recreational access across open land, useful for farming and tourism operators who allow public access, and relief around seismic risk for tenanted premises, useful for property owners and tenants.

What Business South said, and where it landed

Business South made a submission on behalf of members, drawing on what you have told us through our Quarterly Business Survey. Compliance complexity and regulatory uncertainty have come through as persistent pressures, so we backed reform that focuses effort on real risks while keeping the system practical for smaller teams.

Several of the points we raised were taken up:

• We asked for the critical risk definition to be made clearer. The wording was changed to address exactly the uncertainty we flagged.
• We asked that compliance with other laws should not weaken health and safety protection. The provision was tightened so an unrelated regime cannot displace the Act unless it actually manages the risk.
• We asked for more lead in time and practical guidance. The in-force date sits well out at 1 April 2027, and the Government has committed to releasing guidance over the coming months.

We will keep pushing on two things as the guidance is developed:

• Keeping approved codes of practice current, so the guidance businesses rely on keeps pace with automation, new technology and AI.
• Clear, sector specific guidance so smaller businesses do not mistake reduced duties for a blanket exemption.

What to do before 1 April 2027

There is no need to act today, but a little preparation over the next few months will pay off:

• Have a look at your operation and note where your genuinely serious risks sit.
• If you employ close to 20 people, or your numbers move seasonally, keep an eye on that threshold.
• Watch for WorkSafe guidance as it is released, and use the lead in time rather than leaving it to the last minute.
• If you are unsure whether a risk is critical, get advice early.

We will keep members across the detail as the guidance is released, and we will publish a practical explainer on the 20-worker line closer to the start date.

If this reform affects your business and you would like to share your experience, we would like to hear from you. Your voice is what makes our advocacy real.