What changes on 1 April 2027

The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 was passed on 9 July 2026 and comes into force on 1 April 2027. It changes what the Act asks of a small contractor more than it changes what a good Task Analysis looks like.

The five changes that matter on site

1. Critical risks get a schedule

A new Schedule 1A lists critical risks. The Act’s duties are re-pointed at them: the things that kill and maim, rather than every conceivable hazard. Falls, excavations, mobile plant, live services and the rest of the construction list are where the attention goes.

2. Duties scale with size

A PCBU with fewer than 20 workers manages critical risks first. A PCBU with 20 or more manages critical and other risks. This is the change most sole traders and small crews will feel, and it is the reason a task document that names the critical risk plainly is worth more after April 2027, not less.

3. Approved Codes of Practice get safe-harbour status

Industry-developed codes, once approved, give a safe harbour: follow the code and you are taken to have met the corresponding duty. Watch for the construction codes as they are approved; they will shape what a main contractor expects to see.

4. Officer duties are re-framed

Due diligence for officers is recast as governance: knowing, resourcing and verifying, rather than being expected to run the site.

5. Overlap relief

Meeting the Building Act 2004, the Maritime Transport Act 1994 or the Land Transport Act 1998 on a matter is taken to meet the matching HSWA duty. Fewer double obligations for builders and traffic crews.

What does not change

• The primary duty (s36) still applies. The amendments change its focus, not its existence.
• Worker engagement (ss58 to 59) still applies. The sign-on page is not going anywhere.
• Notifiable work under the 1995 Regulations is untouched by this Act.
• The General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 continue, with amendments to regs 9, 15 and 19.

What it means for your paperwork

A Task Analysis that already leads with the critical risk, ranks it, and controls it is most of the way there. The documents on this site are written to the 2015 Act and the 2016 Regulations as they stand today. The amendments are on our review list before 1 April 2027. Where we issue a revised edition we will say what changed and the version number on the document will move, though we do not promise a new edition for every change, so check the document against the law in force when you use it.

Be wary of paperwork sold as ready for 2027 while it is still 2026. The Act is passed, not in force, and the codes that give the safe harbour do not exist yet. Written with the framework in view, yes. Meeting it, not until it applies.

Sources

• Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026, Public Act 2026 No 38, assented 9 July 2026; s2 commencement 1 April 2027. legislation.govt.nz
• WorkSafe New Zealand, Changes to the health and safety law, worksafe.govt.nz/about-us/news-and-media
• Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (as amended from 1 April 2027), new Schedule 1A

This guide is general information about New Zealand health and safety law as at the review date. It is not legal advice and it does not describe your site. Confirm what applies to you with WorkSafe New Zealand or your adviser.