Executive summary

Review purpose

A Department of Labour (the Department) review of the Workplace Health and Safety Strategy for New Zealand to 2015 (the Strategy) was initiated in February 2009. When the Strategy was launched in 2005, Cabinet signalled the need for an operational review to be conducted after three years of implementation.

The key purposes of the review were to:

• determine progress against the Strategy's aims and Framework for Action for the period June 2005 to December 2008
• provide in-depth analysis and conclusions regarding the performance of the Strategy
• provide recommendations for change to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Strategy
• establish key priorities for the Strategy to focus future activity.

An additional related purpose was to review the governance, accountabilities and delivery of the Workplace Health and Safety Council (the Council).

Background

The Strategy is a government framework for action intended to raise awareness about workplace health and safety, coordinate and prioritise workplace health and safety activities across stakeholders and improve the infrastructure that supports workplace health and safety. The vision statement connects workplace health and safety and productivity, recognising how workplace health and safety contributes to improved workplace performance.

The Department provides a progress briefing to the Minster of Labour twice a year and publishes an annual Snapshot of Progress that reports on annual progress and activities. The Strategy also sits within the wider framework of the New Zealand Injury Prevention Strategy (NZIPS), a government initiative to enhance the infrastructure that supports injury prevention activity.

The recession

Further context for this review is the impact of the global economic downturn on businesses and workplaces. Businesses are cutting costs to drive efficiency and maintain a competitive edge. Recommendations from this review process must necessarily reflect wider government priorities of keeping people in work and minimising compliance costs, while also promoting a baseline investment in health and safety as an essential component of future productivity.

Methodology

Focus for the review

The review effectively sought to answer four questions:

• What progress has been made in workplace health and safety in New Zealand over the last three years?
• What is working well and should be continued or expanded?
• What are the main barriers to achieving healthy people in safe and productive workplaces?
• What should the current and future priorities for workplace health and safety in New Zealand be?

Review activities

In addition to the above questions, the review engagement activities were structured around the four action areas of leadership, capability, knowledge and health and safety infrastructure and were developed to stimulate and inform public contributions to the review.

To ensure a comprehensive and representative assessment of the Strategy's future direction, a range of activities were undertaken to inform the review.

The review engagement activities comprised a series of consultation activities, including public events, consultation with agencies, in-depth interviews with a range of health and safety experts and practitioners and written submissions.

The stock-take of activity provided a summary of known workplace health and safety activities and deliverables since the introduction of the Strategy.

An international survey was completed of health and safety strategies from the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore.

The Department developed a draft Outcome Monitoring Framework, identifying a set of baseline measures linking activities to results, to give context to all the health and safety activities under way.

The Workplace Health and Safety Council was also reviewed, recognising the Council's leadership role in providing advice to the government about the implementation of the Strategy. The review considered the governance, accountabilities and delivery of the Council.

Findings

There was a high level of agreement and convergence of views across the diverse range of stakeholders in relation to the four review questions, and this feedback forms the basis of the review conclusions. The stock-take yielded general information about the 'shape and form' of workplace health and safety activity since the Strategy's inception. The international survey underlined the importance of a strategic process for health and safety. The Outcome Monitoring Framework set the basis for future monitoring and measurement of Strategy progress. The Council review highlighted a strong level of support for the Council to continue and develop in its role as an actively engaged peak body.

Conclusions

The Strategy is sound

There is support for the Strategy. Stakeholders from across the sector provided consistent feedback that affirmed the need for the Strategy. At a high level, the Strategy's framework, outcomes and approaches have been affirmed as sound and consistent with leading international strategies from the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore.

There has been progress in workplace health and safety in New Zealand

The review identified a number of practical and encouraging achievements in the last three years.

The Strategy needs clearer direction to focus action

However, the review revealed widespread agreement that the Strategy needs clearer direction to engage stakeholders at the workplace level. On broader analysis, an implementation gap has emerged between the high-level Strategy framework and concrete action at the workplace, industry or hazard level.

There is agreement on the health and safety problems that need fixing

In relation to the implementation gap, there was collective agreement about the range of health and safety problems stakeholders want to see resolved. This provides fertile context to focus action.

Specifically, the key set of priority issues that emerged included:

• improved focus and delivery for occupational health issues.
• workplace capability, guidance and standards (especially for small businesses)
• sector-based approaches (that is, high-risk industries, industry accreditation)
• competency standards for health and safety professionals.
• worker participation in workplaces, including health and safety representative training.

As evidenced in the findings, several initiatives are already under way responding to these problems, but as also testified by the findings, there is a clear need for stronger coordination, collaboration and communication.

The Strategy needs rejuvenation to be more effective

There was widespread support across all categories of stakeholders to see the Strategy rejuvenated and reaffirmed. International experience and stakeholder feedback strongly point to foundational approaches to rejuvenate the Strategy:

1. Improving stakeholder engagement.
2. Improving cross-agency leadership and coordination.
3. Prioritising a finite set of action areas for collective focus.

Improving cross-agency leadership and coordination

The review identified a clear need for improved government coordination and collaboration. Clarifying the respective roles of the Department and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), improving leadership across designated agencies (Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and, Maritime NZ New Zealand (MNZ)) and the enforcement of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996 were specific issues.

In addition, the review identified the public sector health and safety performance as an area in need of renewed leadership. As significant employers, public sector agencies need to be seen to be taking a proactive lead on health and safety.

An action agenda is needed to fill the implementation gap

Looking at the review findings as a whole, there is a demonstrable need to fill the implementation gap. There was widespread agreement about the need for clearer direction to bridge the gap between the higher level framework and implementation activities. One practical option would be for the Department to lead the development of a three-yearly national action agenda.

An action agenda could combine government priorities with the Strategy framework to produce a refined and achievable set of action or priority areas that are:

• evidence-based, prioritising and targeting of health and safety activities
• responsive to stakeholder needs and expectations
• time bound and measurable
• based on good law and reducing unnecessary compliance burdens.

Furthermore, an action agenda with agreed targets, three-year timeframe and respective programmes would provide a nimble and flexible approach that could be monitored, reviewed and refined as required.

New Zealand needs to build and strengthen its monitoring and measurement capacity

As is often said, it is hard to manage what you cannot measure. The review consistently identified the lack of good data and ways to collect data and measure health and safety indicators (health and safety metrics) as an issue. Poor data and health and safety metrics are an issue at the national, enterprise, industry and hazard levels. While there are areas of progress in building a better knowledge base, priority needs to be given to build and strengthen capacity in monitoring and measurement for workplace health and safety in New Zealand.

There is support for the Workplace Health and Safety Council

The Council has been in place for two years and, in this time, has brought its knowledge and working practices to the level required of such a body. However, there are clear indications that the Council needs to take the next step and become an actively engaged peak body with strategic oversight of workplace health and safety in New Zealand.

There is support for the high-level tripartite governance structure of the Council to continue. There is also support for maintaining the high-level strategic focus of the Council, recognising there could be potential to expand the Council's focus and resources to convene sub-groups focused on specific issues or topics.

There are productivity reasons for getting it right

New Zealand's workplace health and safety performance is not where it needs to be. The financial and social cost of this work toll is huge at $16 billion a year. This cost is too high at any time, let alone in a global economic downturn. Consequently, reducing the New Zealand work toll of fatalities, injury and illness is doubly important. The Strategy and its future direction should be seen not only as the foundation of New Zealand's approach to workplace health and safety, but also as a critical component of a productive and resilient New Zealand.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are based on the review findings and conclusions.

Next steps

The review report is one step in a phased process. The real work and critical next steps require that the recommendations be picked up and delivered on.

As lead agency, the Department will progress the Strategy through the next phases of activity. Now that the consultation and recommendations are complete, the Strategy is moving into an agenda-setting phase.

Whilst the Department will undertake this process in association with the Council, it will be critical to involve and have the support of lead agencies, industry associations, unions and employee groups, workplaces, business leaders, Māori and the wider community.

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