1. Health and safety Everyone’s business
The purpose of the Health and Safety Reform Bill is to make clear everyone’s responsibilities in keeping workers healthy and safe in workplaces. The Bill will clarify responsibilities and accountabilities; strengthen worker participation and create expectations for effective risk management, that is proportionate to the risk.
NZ’s health and safety legislation is performance based legislation. Rather than very high levels of prescription, the legislation places responsibility on duty holders to manage the risks they create together with those effected by the risk, and supported by government regulations, approved codes of practice and guidelines.
Today I’m going to talk to you about some of the key things the Health and Safety Reform Bill is designed to achieve and how the Ministry is going to support you through these changes....
In a nutshell this is:
Our programme of work
Leadership
Due diligence
Collaboration
Jill Bond, Ministry of Education

2. New Zealand’s health and safety story
75 people die on the job every year
die from work-related diseases
1 in 10 is harmed
200,000 ACC claims work-related harm
$3.5 billion in costs (2-4 percent of GDP)
The Context
We’ve got a problem with workplace health and safety in New Zealand. Too many people are hurt or killed at work. The annual statistics are grim: 75 people die at work; people die of work related diseases and one in ten are harmed at work.
This can’t continue - we all deserve to come home healthy and safe.
The cost of work related diseases is estimated at $3.5 billion each year. That doesn’t count the social and psychological costs on the friends, family, loved ones and co-workers of those people hurt on the job.
We don’t compare well to other countries we like to compare ourselves with, like Australia and the United Kingdom. Our workplace health and safety record is four times worse than the UK, and twice as bad as our neighbour, Australia.
We all need to focus on health and treat it as seriously as we (should) treat safety
That means managing health risks in the same as we are required to manage safety risks.
As good employers we also need to pay attention to the emotional stresses our workers are exposed to. We need to know when they’re exposed to traumatic events, for example the fire service, who respond to accidents and crises more often than they fight fires – these events can have an emotional impact and over time, this can effect health.
The new Health and Safety at Work Act will replace the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and is scheduled to come into force in late The Ministry is following the Bill’s progress closely. SE&S is leading the sector facing Schools/ECE Health and Safety (H&S) project.
The new legislation recognises that a well-functioning health and safety system relies on participation, leadership, and accountability by government, business, and workers. This includes:
- obligations placed on the people in a work environment who create the risk and are best able to manage the risk
- a worker participation model that provides for better levels of participation and helps workers to have the knowledge and accountability to keep their colleagues safe
- an appropriate system of regulations and guidance to ensure that people understand their obligations and can comply with them
- an effective enforcement regime with graduated categories of offences and penalties to provide better guidance to the courts about appropriate fine levels
Progress of legislation
The Bill is still going through the Parliamentary process – currently at Select Committee which is due to report back on 31 May with a view to be enacted in Novermber. We are taking advantage of this time to determine the potential implications of proposed changes to the existing Health & Safety legislation for the education sector.
Key message
Although the reforms propose some changes to accountabilities and personal liabilities for organisations and their workers, if your school has quality health and safety policies and practices in place now, it is likely little will need to change in the future. We suggest you check your current Health and Safety practices are up to date, rather than wait until the new law comes into force.

3. What Will Be Different? PCBU replaces employer
Officer now has due diligence duty
Greater guidance (Worksafe NZ)
Additional regulations (MBIE)

4. PCBU: Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking
Primary duty of care for, and controls risks to, the health and safety of workers and others at the workplace

5. PCBUs ensure The health and safety of their workers at work
The health and safety of workers who are influenced or directed by the PCBU
The health and safety of others by ensuring it is not put at risk from work carried out at the workplace

6. PCBU obligations and duties
So far as is reasonably practicable, to:
Provide and maintain a work environment, plant and systems that are without risks to health and safety
Ensure the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures and substances
Provide adequate facilities at work for the welfare of workers, including ensuring access to those facilities
Provide information, training, instruction or supervision necessary to protect workers and others from risks to their health and safety
Monitor the health and safety of workers and the conditions at the workplace for the purpose of preventing illness or injury

7. Officers
Exercise due diligence, which means they must take reasonable steps to ensure the PCBU meets its health and safety obligations

8. Duties of Officers is to take reasonable steps to:
Know about worker health and safety matters and keep up-to-date
Gain an understanding of the operations of the organisation and the hazards and risks generally associated with those operations
Ensure the PCBU has appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise those risks
Ensure the PCBU has appropriate processes for receiving information about incidents, hazards and risks, and for responding to that information
Ensure there are processes for complying with any duty, and that these are implemented
Verify that these resources and processes are in place and being used

9. Key Players Boards Principals School Leaders Staff
Ministry, NZSTA, ERO
Regulator (WorkSafe)
Ministry Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE)

10. Role PCBU Officer CE of PCBU Worker Other People
Board of Trustees (entity)
Fine up to $3M or $1.5M or $500k
Board of Trustees
(individuals)
No fine - exempt
Principal
Governance
Management
Fine up to $600k & up to 5 yrs or fine up to $300k or $100k
Fine up to $300k & up to 5 yrs or fine up to $150k or $50k
Teachers
Other people
(students, public & parents)
1. Without reasonable excuse engages in conduct that exposes any individual to whom H&S duty is owed to a risk of death pr serious injury/illness AND is reckless as to the risk
2. Failure to comply with H&S duty exposes individual to risk of death or serious illness/injury
3. Failure to comply with H&S duty

12. Key to our project is updating our web space.
Feedback from the sector has been that our guidance and resources are spread across the Ministry’s website.
We are going to bring all our guidance and support in to once central location. These will be under themes that we have developed with the Sector Reference Group which align with our Health and Safety system
This will be a ‘one stop shop’ Health and Safety web space for the sector.
The web space will be theme based and subject headings will need to be logic tested for usability and based on topics/themes and not areas within the Ministry. The web space will go live once all guidance has been updated, and the legislation has been enacted.
The relationship with NZSTA is considered to be critical for this part of the relationship as we will link to their website and transfer some of our guidance to them. Part of our relationship with them will help determine if additional resources are needed for Boards. NZSTA have a large contract to deliver resources and services to schools.

13. The above diagram shows the look of one of the theme pages.
You will have the factsheets followed by the guidance/support that we provide and then links to external resources
We want to have all our Health and Safety resources in one place and to link to the source of the information so the right information can be accessed.
Discussions are underway with our external stakeholders to ensure a two way sharing relationship of resources is possible. There will be a need for ongoing review of the web space and links after this project is complete.

14. Working together
Sector Reference Group Guidance Review Bulletin Factsheets Web space
Overarching Communication Objectives
Position Health and Safety Reform appropriately –
schools and ECE service providers know the Health and Safety legislation is coming, understand its likely impact on them, and are making any necessary preparations.
The Ministry provides clear and easy to understand guidance and directions to correct information sources in one central place so that schools and ECE providers know where to find the right information
schools and ECE providers are clear on their responsibilities and obligations and are able to take responsibility for ensuring their policies and practices meet the legislative requirements
Build awareness – It’s an important piece of legislation that, if not complied with, could lead to dangerous/unsafe working conditions and large fines and imprisonment.
Build engagement – Educate the education sector on the importance of health and safety responsibilities
Internal Communication Objectives
Staff understand the changes in legislation so they can support the sector to comply with the new legislation
Staff provide guidance to the education sector and know where to direct sector enquiries
Sector Communication Objectives
Clarify why the changes are being made and who the regulator is
Share information about the changes and where to go for further information, including links to ACC, Work safe information
Provide support so there is a high level of understanding of the changes and what their respective obligations are
Sector reviews their own H+S policy/process/practice to ensure they meets current legislation
Explain that getting their current H+S in order will help them prepare for changes
School principals already have multiple communication channels which are regularly updated by the Ministry where they can source the latest Health & Safety information, including the Bulletin to School Leaders, the Education Gazette, the Moe website and directly from Moe staff working in schools. NZSTA has also issued communications to schools directly.
Factsheets
This series of quick guides provides general information for the Education sector about the different elements of an effective health and safety system under the proposed new law that secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces.
The guides draw on information published by WorkSafe New Zealand, the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, and the Institute of Directors in New Zealand Inc. (
Like all other sectors, the Education sector must understand and promote as a priority the health and safety of people in the workplace – workers, students/children, parents, visitors and volunteers. Education organisations, leaders and managers must have in place a robust health and safety management system.
To be fully informed about your health and safety obligations, visit WorkSafe New Zealand’s website:
WE have published three factsheets already
Two on leadership and one of worker participation

15. Education outside the classroom

16. The facts
Between 7 and 10 children, on average, are killed each year by someone who is supposed to be caring for them
In 2010, 209 children under 15 required hospital treatment for assault related injuries
In the 12 months to 30 June 2012, 152,800 care and protection notifications were made to Child, Youth and Family
As at 30 June 2012, there were 3,884 New Zealand children in out-of-home state care

17. 3,249 cases of physical abuse
4,766 cases of neglect
3,249 cases of physical abuse
1,396 cases of sexual abuse
12,114 cases of what social workers term ‘emotional abuse’, often children who have witnessed family violence

18. Children’s Action Plan
Legislative change
Information sharing
Tracking vulnerable children
Tougher penalties
Monitoring child abusers
Screening ‘children’s workers’
Free child protect phone line
Local Children’s Teams
All New Zealanders share responsibilities
A better future for vulnerable children is at the heart of both the Children’s Action Plan and the Vulnerable Children Act, which together make sweeping changes to how we protect and improve the wellbeing of children.
Today is the start of an incredibly important conversation with you all.
Over time, what we start working on today will affect every single person working in education. As it will children’s workers in other sectors.

19. Working together for change
Children’s Action Plan
children at the centre
core competencies
code of practice
Vulnerable Children Act
new accountabilities
safety checking
child protection
The Children’s Action Plan led to last year’s Vulnerable Children’s Act, which legislates for sweeping changes.
Together, the Plan and the Act provide a cross-sector programme of action to drive towards a safer, more competent and better supported children’s workforce.
While some of the legislative changes only apply to paid employees in state-funded organisations (e.g. vetting and screening), the Children’s Action Plan envisions improvements in practice across the whole workforce.
The Ministry and our sector partners are actively working with the CAP Directorate and our government and education partners to co-design and deliver a much stronger system.
The Act extends the statutory child protection safety net beyond CYF and the Police to include all government-funded children’s workers. Child protection is now much more than a moral responsibility – it has become our statutory duty.
The changes extend from the Beehive through our Chief Executives and senior managers right through to educators at the frontline - and beyond to those who are contracted by government to work with children.
The heads of five government departments are now accountable for protecting and improving the lives of vulnerable children. The NZ Police and Ministries of Health, Education, Justice, and Social Development now all have new, legislated responsibilities.
We need to work closely together to lead the changes we want to see and deliver the best possible results for vulnerable children.

20. Core competencies, code of practice
Shaping our child protection culture
New ways of working collaboratively and consistently
Understand our child protection roles
Recognise when things aren’t right
Know what to do
The Ministry and all our funded providers must have a child protection policy in place as soon as possible, together with five other core government agencies and DHBs.
Licensed ECE services already require a child protection procedure as part of licensing and we are supporting services to revise these. This is a new requirement for certified playgroups.
School/kura boards of trustees have another year to develop CPPs, by 1 July 2016.
There’s a lot more we can do in education to foster a shared child protection culture and the Ministry is committed to leading this change alongside you.
Children’s workers are often able to tell when something isn’t right with a child or their family/whānau. CPPs will help staff understand their child protection role, recognise when things aren’t right and know what action to take to prevent abuse and neglect.
We understand there are barriers to reporting concerns (eg family/whanau and community reactions, families/whanau that move, commercial considerations about losing pupils and a sometimes less-than-responsive CYF that doesn’t always get back to us about what has happened). Together we need to address these concerns.
Our Education/CYF protocols remain in place and we will help share the CPP learnings from other sectors. We can build on what we already do.
High quality policies and an active leadership commitment to fostering a child protection culture will ensure vulnerable children get the right help quickly.

21. Safety checking and child protection policies
Identity verification Police vetting Candidate interviews Reference checking Core workers Non core workers Exemptions
Safety checking for government-funded children’s workers is changing to become more stringent.
The four elements of a safety check are identity verification, Police vetting, candidate interviews and reference checking.
New core workers are the first to be affected and must be safety checked from 1 July 2015.
Core workers work are government funded and work alone with, or have primary responsibility or authority over, children (eg doctors, nurses, social workers and – of course – teachers). REFER HANDOUT FOR LEGAL DEFINITIONS.
And from 1 July 2015 people with certain child abuse, sexual or violence convictions are prohibited from core children’s worker roles, unless they have an exemption. Exemptions are administered by MSD and we expect to share more information about how exemptions will operate in June.
The new law only applies to paid workers but we encourage employers to safety check any volunteers with regular or overnight contact with children.
Schools/kura and licensed ECE services already follow Police vetting as part of employer or registration processes. But the Act codifies additional good practice steps. For some safety checking will be a new activity and we need to make adoption as easy as possible.

22. Changes are being phased in
ASAP
Child protection polices: 6 govt agencies & funded services
Mid May
Core competencies consultation starts
Fm 1 July 15
All NEW core workers must be safety checked
(workforce restrictions apply, exemption process)
Fm 1 July 16
Restrictions for all existing core workers (exemptions)
All new non-core workers safety checked
By 1 July 16
Child protection policies in place for schools
By 1 July 18
All existing core workers safety checked
By 1 July 19
All existing non-core workers safety checked
Every 3 years, all children’s workers must be periodically safety checked.
It is in nobody’s interest to fast track this important suite of changes – system changes are being phased in and need to be carefully managed (eg Police concerns about any massive spike in demand for their vetting service).
Our priority is for us all to understand the changes and new obligations and to support and embed good practice right across our sector.
None of us want to compromise the system with transaction burdens in the early stages of change and of course we need to keep our classrooms resourced.

23. Children’s Teams – educators are key players
Education is an integral part of the four Children’s Teams operating in Rotorua, Whangarei, Horowhenua/Otaki and Marlborough. We are helping establish six more teams (in Hamilton, South Auckland, the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Tairawhiti, Whanganui and Christchurch).
The first large urban team goes live in Hamilton on 1 July, with new cross-agency support systems in place. We are working towards a much more comprehensive system and Hamilton will be the first Children’s Team to use agreed new ways to share information, The Hub contact centre and the first elements of the Vulnerable Kids Information System.
We have started work on resourcing for the Hamilton Children’s Team and will also look at the impact of Children’s Teams on frontline educational operations and services.
Education sector people based in Children’s Team communities are starting to experience and understand the positive impact of the new teams.
Specialist educators (eg psychologists and RTLBs) already work closely with vulnerable children and are a valued source of Lead Professionals (LPs) for Children’s Teams. LPs are frontline practitioners who bring together cross-agency teams and lead delivery of child-centred services to protect and support vulnerable children and their family/whanau.
While teachers will seldom act in Lead Professional roles, they will become key players in the Child Action Teams that the LPs bring together to jointly develop and action child-centred cross-agency plans. Teachers are ideally placed to influence positive change for vulnerable children as members of these action teams.
Over time we expect Children’s Teams to align with DHB boundaries and for each region to have at least one Children’s Team.

24. “Take care of our children Take care of what they hear
Take care of what they see
Take care of what they feel
For how the children grow
So will be the shape of Aotearoa”
Dame Whina Cooper
And just another reminder about why we’re here:
To protect vulnerable children, and
To ensure all our children thrive, belong and achieve

25. Thank you
Thank everyone for attending and push the message that it is not dissimilar to what you are dong now.