HSWA changes coming

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) has been amended by the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026. Changes aim to focus on critical risks and will come into effect on 1 April 2027

Under HSWA, a person conducting a business or undertaking (a PCBU) must manage health and safety risks that arise from their work.

The amendments aim to:

• Reduce unnecessary compliance costs.
• Increase certainty for businesses and organisations about what they need to do to comply.
• Support continued reductions in the incidence of workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses.

To achieve these objectives, the amendments focus the system on critical risk, clarify areas of confusion, create greater certainty for duty holders through strengthening Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) and prioritise the regulators’ powers and functions.

From 1 April 2027, small PCBUs (fewer than 20 workers) are required to manage critical risks ahead of other risks, while large PCBUs must manage critical and other risks, giving critical risks the highest priority.

Critical risks are those associated with:

• The hazards described in Schedule 1A of HSWA.
• Or any hazard likely to result in death, a notifiable injury, illness, incident, or an occupational disease listed in Schedule 2 of the Accident Compensation Act 2001.

The term ‘likely to result’ means the chance that death, a notifiable injury or illness, a notifiable incident, or an occupational disease will result when an incident or accident occurs. It does not refer to the likelihood of the event actually occurring.

SiteSafe says one of the biggest changes is a clearer definition of ‘critical risks’.

“These are the hazards that could lead to death, serious injury or illness, or certain work-related diseases,” it says on its website. “You’ll still need to use your judgement. The key is working out what’s truly critical in your workplace and being able to explain why you’ve prioritised it that way.”

Schedule 1A lists some construction activities that are automatically treated as ‘critical risks’, including:

• Work at height.
• Mobile plant.
• Excavation.
• Scaffolding.
• Hazardous substances.

Approved code of practice changes

An ACOP sets a standard for complying with work health and safety duties. While it is not mandatory to follow an ACOP, if a PCBU does so, they are considered to have met their HSWA obligations in respect of a health and safety risk. This provision comes into effect on 1 April 2027.

In addition, from 1 April 2027, parties other than the regulator, including industry groups, unions, worker representatives, employer organisations, and sector representatives can develop their own ACOPs for specific work practices. These must be submitted to WorkSafe who decides whether they meet the criteria for Ministerial approval.

Overlapping legislation 

In some situations, PCBUs may have a duty to manage a health and safety risk under HSWA that is also managed by requirements under another Act. For example, requirements under:

• The Building Act 2004.
• Maritime Transport Act 1994.
• Land Transport Act 1998.

The changes to HSWA clarify that a PCBU that complies with a requirement in another Act, where it manages the same risk, will be considered compliant with HSWA.

Other key changes

Duties for officers (such as company directors, partners, board members, or chief executives) have been clarified to focus on governance functions. This includes:

• Understanding a PCBU’s risks and relevant health and safety matters.
• Ensuring the PCBU has resources and processes to manage risks, and
• Verifying the PCBU is using those resources and processes.

Officer duties are separate from what an officer does in their role as a worker for the PCBU.