20 July 2016
Working together for a safer, healthier New Zealand
ACC and WorkSafe New Zealand today launched the inaugural ‘Reducing Harm in New Zealand Workplaces Action Plan’. The
Plan supports their collaborative efforts to meet the government’s target of reducing serious injuries and fatalities in
the workplace by at least 25 percent by 2020.
“Our agencies are committed to working in partnership with industry to meet the government’s target and achieve positive
health and safety outcomes for all New Zealanders” said ACC’s Chief Customer Officer, Sid Miller. “Partnering with
industry gives us a more in-depth understanding of what causes harm and severe injury across all New Zealand workplaces,
rather than just single problems in single sectors.”
WorkSafe’s CEO, Gordon MacDonald, said input from both agencies would ensure better outcomes. “What businesses want to
see from WorkSafe and ACC is clear advice and a consistent, practical approach. That’s what the Plan will help us
deliver – smart, targeted injury and harm prevention programmes based on the best available evidence.”
However government agencies cannot do it alone. Everyone has a role to play in keeping themselves, their co-workers and
their working environment safe. “Good health and safety is about making sure we all take the right steps to keep
ourselves and our workmates safe and healthy at work” said Mr MacDonald.
The ‘Reducing Harm in New Zealand Workplaces Action Plan’ is taking a new look at how, together, we can better support
the agriculture, construction, forestry, manufacturing and health sectors to make significant improvements to keep their
workers safe. The Plan also focuses on the most common causes of injury across all sectors – slips, trips and falls;
working in and around vehicles; body stressing, and respiratory health risks. Underlying this is a new focus on
fundamental changes that support health and safety culture, such as worker engagement and participation.
There are a number of programmes in the Plan already underway, including Safetree, Safer Farms and the Canterbury
rebuild programme. Other programmes are in the development stage, which means we are engaging with stakeholders and
gathering evidence and data to support interventions.
“Industry and business can have confidence that we’ve taken an evidence-based approach to severe injury and harm
prevention; that what we are delivering for and with industry are agreed, targeted and smart approaches to tackling the
causes of severe injury and harm” said Mr Miller.
“Businesses, workers and the public rightly expect government agencies to work together and the three-year Plan is a
major step towards a smarter, more co-ordinated approach to keeping New Zealanders safe and healthy,” said Mr MacDonald.
Ends