In June 2025, the New Zealand Government unveiled a sweeping amendment to the country’s work health and safety regime, marking the most significant shift in WorkSafe New Zealand’s mandate since the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSW Act) came into force in 2016. The reforms, part of a broader government push to modernise regulation and reduce compliance burdens, aim to sharpen WorkSafe’s focus on “critical risks”—those with the potential to cause death, serious injury, illness, or catastrophic failure—while transforming the regulator’s culture from punitive enforcement to proactive partnership and guidance. This article provides a detailed overview of the WorkSafe […]