MEDIA RELEASE
3 April 2025
Welcome clarity and relief for business with new and improved access to guidance
A Forum of 440+ CEOs is pleased to see one of its key recommendations to improve New Zealand’s poor health and safety record has been included in health and safety reforms, announced this morning.
Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Hon Brooke van Velden today said changes would be made to the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) model to provide more certainty to business.
“In our submission to the Minister last year the Forum was clear to point out that while the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 is not the problem, the absence of supporting regulations and guidance leaves businesses unclear about their responsibilities,” says Francois Barton, CEO of the Forum.
“This was not only a key aspect of the Forum’s recommendations to improve New Zealand’s health and safety system but was also a key recommendation in a Joint Submission of 60 companies, supported by the Forum.”