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You might’ve seen the latest headlines about H&S reforms. The government’s still working through the details, so we don’t have any concrete updates for you just yet. But here’s the key thing to note: While the aim is to reduce red tape for some industries, construction remains high-risk, and rightly deserves a strong safety focus. That means your core responsibilities on-site aren’t going anywhere.

Here’s the latest updates

On 28 July 2025 the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety recently announced an update on the proposed health and safety reform. They’re aiming to simplify things for the construction industry by:

• Creating consistency with H&S prequalification and clarifying how you need to work with contractors on shared sites
• Exploring clearer rules for working at heights, and reducing unnecessary scaffolding in low-risk situations
• Relaxing the guidelines around machinery guarding 
• Reviewing safety limits for wood dust and welding fumes.

But remember….and this is a key point…it’s all still at the consultation stage so nothing has changed yet.

What’s our stance? 

Construction hasn’t become safer by chance, it’s the result of continuous effort, investment, and shared commitment from everyone. 

HazardCo members are doing great work to make their sites safer. We’ve crunched the numbers and HazardCo members are 4 times safer than the industry average so keep up the good work. 

We’ve helped thousands of Kiwi builders make their worksites safer. Our Health & Safety Advisory team has also shared what we’re seeing on-site with the government, so they understand the real challenges builders face. It’s important that small and medium-sized building companies have a voice because the pressures around time and cost for you are real.
We wanted to break down our thoughts on the key areas for proposed changes that may affect you and your team:

Contractor Management

Just as CHASNZ does, we welcome changes and clarity that help create consistency in H&S pre-qualification to ensure that everyone is following the same standard. As a CHASNZ-endorsed provider for the residential building sector, we agree that often prequalification gets derailed by cost, duplication, and misaligned systems. Our system addresses this by empowering residential builders to understand what good safety practice looks like and what’s required to meet proper standards. Rather than just ticking boxes, we help businesses build genuine safety knowledge and systems, ensuring they understand the ‘why’ behind safety requirements and can implement them effectively. We will continue to keep our ear to the ground with regard to any changes in this space

Heights 

Chris Alderson, CEO of CHASNZ, points out that falling from heights is the leading cause of workplace deaths around the world. New Zealand is different, we’ve made strong progress with our safety practices when working at height. But if scaffolding rules are relaxed, those gains could be lost unless it’s handled with extreme care. We’ve seen first-hand the impact of fall injuries on workers, families, and businesses, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on this to share insights as things develop.

Dust 

When it comes to dust exposure, the Minister’s review will look at substances like soft wood dust, hard wood dust and welding fumes. While reviewing the science is always worthwhile, Jeff Sissions points out that it’s worth noting these exposure standards were already updated recently in consultation with industry and aligned with international benchmarks. He says the bigger issue in this area is that the standards aren’t legally binding – they’re guidelines. That means the real risk is that without strong enforcement or mandatory limits, workers could still be exposed to unsafe levels of dust that can cause long-term, sometimes life-threatening, respiratory illness.

Machinery Guarding

Another area of concern is the potential relaxation of rules around machinery guarding. Guarding is the first line of defence to stop workers from being pulled into, crushed, or caught by dangerous moving parts. New Zealand already sees far too many serious injuries from machinery, and weakening these requirements could make the problem worse. Even small changes to the standards risk creating loopholes that allow businesses to cut corners, putting workers at serious risk of life-changing injuries.

What it means for you

Construction remains one of the highest-risk industries in New Zealand. That’s why we’ll always keep safety front and centre. And we’ll make sure your system reflects the most up-to-date rules, so you don’t have to stress about missing anything.

In the meantime, keep doing what you do best, looking out for your team, working safely and documenting your safety actions. 

We’ll keep you posted as the reform progresses. If you’ve got questions or want to chat through what this means for your site, give us a call. We’re always here to help.