How WorkSafe is changing the way it works with industryFriday 17 Apr 2026
In this article she sets out exactly what a sharper, more proportionate approach to workplace safety looks like in practice and what the regulator expects from the sectors it oversees. “WorkSafe is in genuine transition, in service of a clearer, more useful relationship with the businesses and workers we exist to serve", said Sharon. "The Minister’s 2025 Letter of Expectations set out three clear shifts for WorkSafe: proportionate action, practical guidance and clear, consistent advice. Everything we are doing is aligned to that direction". We have updated our Enforcement Decision-Making Model to align with the Solicitor-General’s Prosecution Guidelines. We have introduced formal warnings as a specific enforcement tool, sitting between improvement notices and prosecution. “Everything I describe here - new ACOPs, industry-led pilots, the endorsement policy, the guidance refresh, proportionate enforcement - is focused on one outcome: fewer people being seriously injured or killed at work. But we cannot do this alone. The industry-led model only delivers better standards if industry actually leads." Consultation periods are your opportunity to contribute to the standards your sector will be held to. Please take that opportunity seriously. Enforceable undertakings And we have brought pre-charge enforceable undertakings (EUs) into our toolkit for the first time. Enforceable undertakings are legally binding commitments. They require genuine acceptance of responsibility, systemic safety improvements, financial commitments to victims, and active monitoring by WorkSafe. They are not a way out. They are a faster way through, delivering improvements immediately rather than after a two or three-year court process. We now have 16 active EUs, the highest level in more than five years, with five accepted this financial year alone. One recent example followed an incident where a worker sustained serious burn injuries. The agreement includes financial amends, a worker consultation initiative, lessons shared with industry, training seminars for the electrical sector, and a donation to the Burns Support Group. That is what a proportionate response looks like: accountability, remedy, and industry improvement, delivered at pace. Engage early, accept responsibility The point is not to reduce enforcement. It is to make enforcement more predictable and more transparent. Businesses that engage early, accept responsibility and fix the problem should not face the same response as those that do not. Guidance that actually works. Approved Codes of Practice Three new Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) are in development right now: roles and responsibilities in agriculture, safe farm vehicle operation, and roles and responsibilities in residential construction. Public consultation on all three opens shortly, and all are due to the Minister by July. We are building these iteratively, with sector voices at the table throughout. The forestry ACOP, launched last year, showed what good sector engagement looks like. We delivered workshops from Whangārei to Invercargill, reaching 344 forestry businesses. The feedback was consistently positive. People valued the clarity, the dialogue, and the shift to consolidated, plain-language, risk-based guidance. More >> Source & image credit: WorkSafe NZ  | ||
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