1. Health and Safety Everyone’s responsibility
Darren Handforth, 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 for work-related harm
$3.5 billion in costs (2-4 percent of GDP)

3. What will be different?
Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (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 they are 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. Duty of officers is to take reasonable steps to:
Know and keep up-to-date about work health and safety matters
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. PCBU – the Board of Trustees as an entity
Duty holders
PCBU – the Board of Trustees as an entity
Officer – the individual members of the Board, including the Principal

10. Duty holders
Worker – any person who carries out work in any capacity (whether paid or unpaid) for the Board of Trustees, including the Principal
Other People – any person within the school environment and or workplace including students, parents and members of the public

11. Supply chain example PCBUs Principal Contractor Sub-contractor Worker
Selection, chain supervision and monitoring
Consult, coordinate, cooperate
Consultation

12. Additional changes
● Manufacturers, importers, suppliers and designers of plant and structures are PCBUs and have duties
● Change to Risk Management
● Include workplace use of hazardous substances
● Create new regulations and Codes of Practice

13. Key players Board of Trustees Principals School Leaders Staff
Ministry, NZSTA, ERO
Regulator (WorkSafe)
Ministry Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE)

14. PCBU Officer Worker Other People
Board of Trustees (entity)
Fine up to $300k1 or $1.5M2 or $3M3
Elected/appointed Trustees
(individuals)
No fine – exempt from liability for breach of duty
Principal
Fine up to
$100k1 or
$300k2 or
$600k3 & up to 5 yrs
Fine up to
$50K1,
$150k2 or
$300k3 & up to 5 yrs
Teachers and other staff
Other people
(students, public and parents)
1. Failure to comply with health and safety duty
2. Failure to comply with health and safety duty exposes individual to risk of death or serious injury/illness
3. Without reasonable excuse engages in conduct that exposes any individual to whom health and safety duty is owed to a risk of death or serious injury/illness AND is reckless as to the risk

15. Roles and Responsibilities School-run infrastructure projects
“…Effective health and safety means focusing on the high risk areas, not the obscure and inconceivable…”

16. School Senior Management
Responsible and accountable for health and safety management and performance in school construction projects
Demonstrate leadership in health and safety management and active engagement in health and safety performance
Involved in providing the support and resources required to ensure health and safety is appropriately managed

17. School Senior Management
Able to demonstrate that health and safety is actively reviewed and has been taken into consideration in business decisions
Hold themselves and others accountable for health and safety

18. Project Manager
Responsible and accountable that health and safety expectations are being addressed by the main site contractor, consultants and sub-contractors
Actively engages and communicates with the contractor, consultants and school on health and safety management

19. School’s representation for construction projects
Project Manager
School’s representation for construction projects
Holds the main site contractor responsible for health and safety on the site
Ensures safety is actively and collaboratively addressed throughout the lifecycle of the project and with all parties (i.e. Ministry, schools, boards of trustees, consultants, main site contractor, sub-contractors and any other providers)

20. Responsible and accountable for management of sub-contractors
Main Site Contractor
Responsible and accountable for the safety of the site and adjacent areas that form egress/ingress to the site
Responsible and accountable for management of sub-contractors
Ensures site is maintained in a clean and safe way

21. Main Site Contractor
Ensures there is appropriate site security, demarcation and signage of works currently being undertaken
Works with the school to ensure risks and hazards are appropriately identified and managed

22. Main Site Contractor
Responsible for the traffic management of the construction site (incl. site egress/ingress and adjacent roads), and ensures all individuals entering and working on the site are following safety and security requirements and procedures
Manages incident reporting and holds all individuals accountable for safety management

23. Main Site Contractor
Responsible and holds sub-contractors accountable for their management and performance of health and safety

24. Sub-contractor
Responsible and accountable to carry out their work safely and to follow all safety procedures and requirements of the main site contractor and the school for the project
Actively manage health and safety in the work they do, and report incidents and hazards as they occur to the main site contractor
Responsible to follow all site safety rules and ensure all individuals undergo site inductions

25. Further guidance
Health and Safety information to help your school meet the requirements of the current Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992:
The Health and Safety regulator:
Administrator of Health and Safety legislation: