CE Insight, April 2025
29 Apr 2025
On Monday it was the World Day for Safety and Health at Work - a timely reminder for us all to reaffirm our commitment to creating workplaces where people can thrive and where workers feel safe from physical and mental harm.
At Site Safe, it’s our belief that if we focus on care, compliance will naturally follow. So, World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an opportunity for us to reflect on our shared values that protecting the health and wellbeing of our people is simply the right thing to do.
We have this laser focus because, in New Zealand, there is a disturbing statistic: Workers are twice as likely to suffer fatal accidents at work compared to their Australian counterparts. This is especially concerning in high-risk industries like ours, where serious injuries and deaths occur all too frequently.
Since the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety released proposed amendments to health and safety legislation last month, we’ve been advocating on behalf of Site Safe members and the industry to ensure that any streamlining must not come at the cost of maintaining high safety standards. Last week I wrote an editorial for The Post, emphasising the need to ensure that changes must be motivated by reducing harm, not just compliance burden.
Since the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety released proposed amendments to health and safety legislation last month, we’ve been advocating... that any streamlining must not come at the cost of maintaining high safety standards.
We know that many construction businesses are already doing the right thing, but the majority are small-medium businesses that are often time-poor, resource-stretched, and navigating a complex regulatory environment – and our role is to make it easier for them to succeed in keeping their people safe.
At Site Safe, we can bridge the gap between policy and practice. With our strong industry connections and expertise, built over 25 years, we are well-positioned to facilitate industry participation in creating clear and effective guidance, developing Approved Codes of Practice, and providing practical tools and advice.
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a timely reminder, during a period of legislative reform, that everyone has the right to feel safe at work.
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