Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) is New Zealand’s primary workplace health and safety legislation. It came into force on 4 April 2016 and replaced the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
This page explains how SteadyOn’s modules map to your key duties under the HSWA. It is not legal advice — for specific legal questions, consult a qualified health and safety advisor or lawyer.
Who the HSWA applies to
Section titled “Who the HSWA applies to”The HSWA applies to everyone who works — employees, contractors, self-employed people, and volunteers. The central concept is the PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking). If you run a business, you are likely a PCBU, and you have the primary duty of care.
The primary duty of care
Section titled “The primary duty of care”A PCBU must ensure the health and safety of workers, so far as is reasonably practicable. This includes:
- Providing and maintaining a work environment that is without risks to health and safety
- Providing and maintaining safe plant and structures
- Providing and maintaining safe systems of work
- Ensuring the safe use, handling, and storage of plant, structures, and substances
- Providing adequate facilities for the welfare of workers
- Providing information, training, instruction, or supervision that is reasonably necessary
- Monitoring the health of workers and the conditions at the workplace
How SteadyOn helps: The Hazard Register, Corrective Actions, and Inspections modules help you identify risks, implement controls, and document that your workplace is actively managed.
Hazard and risk management
Section titled “Hazard and risk management”The HSWA requires you to identify hazards, assess the risks they create, and implement controls to eliminate or minimise those risks.
SteadyOn’s Hazard Register provides:
- A documented record of all identified hazards
- Risk assessments using a likelihood × consequence matrix
- Control measures linked to each hazard
- Review dates to ensure hazards are reassessed regularly
- BRAG status to flag overdue reviews
Relevant HSWA sections: Part 2, subpart 1 (Managing risks to health and safety)
Worker participation
Section titled “Worker participation”The HSWA requires PCBUs to engage with workers on health and safety matters, particularly when making decisions that affect their health and safety.
SteadyOn’s role: While SteadyOn does not manage formal worker participation processes (like Health and Safety Committees), it supports worker participation by:
- Giving all team members the ability to report hazards and incidents
- Providing the public incident reporting link for workers without SteadyOn accounts
- Making the hazard register visible to all team members so workers can see identified risks
Incident notification
Section titled “Incident notification”For certain serious events — notifiable events — you must notify WorkSafe NZ as soon as possible. These include:
- The death of any person
- A notifiable injury or illness (defined in the Act — includes fractures, amputations, hospitalisations, certain illnesses)
- A notifiable incident (uncontrolled collapse, explosion, release of hazardous substance, etc.)
SteadyOn’s Incident Register flags notifiable events and displays a reminder that WorkSafe must be notified. The record serves as your evidence that you identified and responded to the event.
Important: SteadyOn records incidents but does not notify WorkSafe on your behalf. You must notify WorkSafe directly at worksafe.govt.nz/notifications.
Relevant HSWA sections: Part 2, subpart 5 (Notifiable events)
Records and documentation
Section titled “Records and documentation”While the HSWA does not always require specific records to be kept, having documented records is essential for:
- Demonstrating compliance in an audit or investigation
- Understanding patterns and trends in safety performance
- Supporting ACC claims and return-to-work plans
- Proving due diligence in the event of prosecution
SteadyOn’s Audit Log provides a tamper-evident record of every change made in the system — who created or modified each record, and when. This supports your ability to demonstrate that your safety management system was being actively used.
Due diligence for officers
Section titled “Due diligence for officers”Under the HSWA, officers (directors, board members, senior managers) have a personal duty of due diligence to ensure their PCBU meets its health and safety duties. This includes:
- Keeping up-to-date knowledge of health and safety matters
- Understanding the organisation’s operations and risks
- Ensuring the PCBU has appropriate resources and processes
- Receiving and reviewing information about incidents, hazards, and compliance
SteadyOn’s Dashboard and Reports are designed specifically for this purpose — giving officers visibility over the organisation’s safety status without requiring them to manage day-to-day records.
SteadyOn is a tool, not a compliance guarantee
Section titled “SteadyOn is a tool, not a compliance guarantee”SteadyOn helps you build and maintain a health and safety management system. Using SteadyOn does not automatically mean you are compliant with the HSWA. Compliance depends on:
- Actually identifying your real hazards (not just filling in records)
- Implementing genuine controls (not just writing them down)
- Engaging your workers
- Following through on corrective actions
- Reviewing and improving over time
SteadyOn makes these activities easier to track and manage. The substance of your safety programme is still yours to create.