The Due Diligence Duties in The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide some clarity on the due diligence duties of officers in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HASWA). Officers, such as company directors, are seen as most able to take action to improve workplace health and safety, thus Parliament imposed criminal liability on these duty-holders to improve workplace health and safety (WHS). Indeed, there is empirical evidence to suggest that organisations in which officers are committed to WHS are more likely to have better WHS outcomes. To date, there have been no prosecutions against officers in New Zealand. Since the HASWA is based on the Australian Model Work Health and Safety Act 2011, this article draws on Australian jurisprudence and on some of the available empirical evidence on improving WHS to suggest how the due diligence duties might be interpreted in New Zealand.