In 1986, I became the youngest registered forklift instructor in New Zealand — at the ripe old age of 18. I have my boss, John Evans, to thank for that. You see, I’d been caught doing some really stupid and dangerous stunts on a forklift. And it wasn’t my first offence. At the end of a disciplinary meeting, John picked up a piece of paper and I thought, “This is it — written warning or worse.” But instead, he said, “In May you’ll attend a five-day forklift instructor course at the Waterfront...

When it comes to workplace health and safety in New Zealand, the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) sets the benchmark. One of the core responsibilities it places on a PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking)  is to make sure workers are trained, competent, and safe to carry out their work. But here’s the catch: it’s not enough to simply collect unit standards and assume they’re valid. Under HSWA, a PCBU has a duty to take reasonably practicable steps  to check the...

If its unit standards based, then probably. The Government’s review of workplace health and safety compliance is long overdue - but if...