HEALTH AND SAFETY IN OUR WORKPLACES

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN OUR WORKPLACES Presentation to Nurse executives nz GREGOR COSTER, CHAIR, WORKSAFE NZ 14 AUGUST 2014

CALL FOR A STEP-CHANGE: Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety, April 2013 Working Safer reformblueprint, August 2013 WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND

Worksafe NZ WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND • New stand-alone Crown Agency • Mandate to lead a step change in health and safety performance • Target of >25% reduction in fatalities and serious harm by 2020 • Established December 2013

STATEMENT OF INTENT 2013-14OUR PRIORITIES Targeting risk: focus on acute, chronic & catastrophic harms Working together: work collaboratively with others for maximum effect Rebuilding Canterbury safely: focus on construction, occupational health & high-risk populations Working smarter: implement a clearer regulatory regime Strengthening our organisation:build a high-performance agency

What’s needed • A transition from mostly… • Reactive (bottom of cliff) • Incidents • Outputs • Hazard/Symptom • Starting with solutions • Individual practitioner variation • Working in isolation as an agency • to mostly … • Proactive and targeted • Patterns • Outcomes • Root causes • Intelligence and context-led • Guided decision-making • Engaged and collaborative WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND

Working together with Employers and Employees • WorkSafe NZ’s three “E”s : • Educate • Engage • Enforce

WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND

OUR INTERVENTION approach – OUR SPHERES OF ACTIVITY Universal activity General, basic, ongoing activity, such as awareness raising, general guidance and education & information provision Targeted activity Addresses an identified risk in a sector, industry or enterprise, and is tailored to fit the participants, operating environment and objectives Reactive activity In response to actual incidents, hazards or risks. Enforcement tools will be prominent in this area of activity but may lead to universal and targeted activities as well

WORKSAFE NZ’S INTERVENTIONS • Our principles: • Risk-based and targeted • Led by reliable intelligence • Shared responsibility, clear accountability • Proportionate, consistent, fair, just and impartial • Transparent, open and accountable • Outcome-focused • Take account of wider public interest

Health and safety at work act

The new legislation – key elements • No-one should be able to say they don’t understand their obligations by April next year. • Duties are explicit • Duty-holders’ responsibilities clearly laid out • More worker participation • More tools for the regulator • Penalty regime toughened

Health and safety reform billREF.HEALTH provision WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND • Reform Bill makes duties more explicit: • DHBs and NGOs as PCBUs must work together • DHBs must satisfy themselves service providers have appropriate H&S processes & protocols in place • New ‘due diligence’ director duties • Service providers must give regard to their requirements under other legislation, eg. HPCA

Health and safety reform billREF.HEALTH provision WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND • Where the line is drawn: code of professional conduct and H&S law • Distinction is drawn on clinical judgement • Serious harm arising from treatment by registered health professionals more appropriately dealt with by Health & Disability Commissioner • WorkSafe NZ reserves right to investigate

The legislation “As far as is reasonably practicable…” What is or was reasonably able to be done to ensure health and safety taking into account and weighing up all reasonable matters. PCBU – person conducting a business or undertaking The legal entity conducting business ranging from an enterprise to the self-employed person. Specific and clarified duties imposed and ensures no gaps through which health and safety responsibilities can fall.

Health and safety reform billinTHE CASE OF MULTIPLE PCBU’S WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND

The legislation Worker participation Directs PCBUs to engage with workers and to have effective agreed participation practices on health and safety matters. Cooperation where multiple PCBUs are operating on one site to protect their own, and other workers on site. May have multiple duties and more than one PCBU may have the same duty. Regulatory framework A comprehensive supporting framework including regulations, ACOPs and guidance to provide further clarity of expectation and how these goals in the Act can be achieved in practice.

The legislation Primary duty of care Defines the requirements on PCBUs to look after its workers and those workers influenced or directed by the PCBU. Ensure other persons’ health and safety not put at risk as part of the conduct of the PCBU. Enforcement Wider range of tools for the regulator. Graduated scale of significantly increased penalties is introduced. The regulator will take a proportional approach.

Health and safety reform bill - REGULATIONS • Regulation development in two phases • First phase focused on developing regulations for: • General risk and workplace management • Worker participation and representation • Work involving hazardous substances • Major hazard facilities • Work involving asbestos

SUPPORTING GUIDANCE • Critical to the success of the new model • Very significant issue in our consultation • Significant capability and capacity build underway in our Standards and Guidance Team • 40 pieces of guidance on the list today

Key officers’ DUTIES WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND • Officers have a due diligence duty • It is individual to officers • Includes taking reasonable steps to: • acquire, and keep up-to-date, knowledge of work health and safety matters • gain an understanding of the nature of the operations of the business or undertaking of the PCBU and generally of the hazards and risks associated with those operations • ensure that the PCBU has available for use, and uses, appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking • ensure that the PCBU has appropriate processes for receiving and considering information regarding incidents, hazards and risks and for responding in a timely way to that information • ensure that the PCBU has, and implements, processes for complying with any duty or obligation of the PCBU under the Act • verify the provision and use of the resources and processes referred to above.

Health and safety reform billGOOD GOVERNANCE GUIDE WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND • Adhere to • principles of • quality • governance • Check out ‘Good Governance Practices Guideline for Managing H&S Risks’, www.iod.org.nz

SO WHAT IS THE GOAL? WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND • The simple goal: Workers go home healthy and safe every day • The absolute goal: 25% (at least) reduction in fatalities and serious harms by 2020

Everyone who goes to work comes home healthy and safe • Everyone has a role to play worksafe.govt.nz0800 030 040

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN OUR WORKPLACES