Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — Sections 34, 35

Contractor health and safety obligations in New Zealand

Both the business that engages contractors and the contractors themselves have health and safety obligations under the HSWA. Here's who is responsible for what.

📋 HSWA 2015, Sections 34–36 — In force as at 5 April 2025

Overlapping duties — everyone is responsible

Multiple PCBUs, shared duties

When two or more PCBUs share a workplace or work together, they each have health and safety duties that overlap. Each PCBU must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, cooperate, and coordinate with the other PCBUs to ensure all duties are met. You cannot contract out of your duties or pass them entirely to another party.

The engaging PCBU's obligations

Duty to contractors who work for you

If your business engages a contractor (whether directly or through a labour hire company), you owe that contractor's workers the same primary duty of care as your own employees — so far as is reasonably practicable.

This means:

  • Providing a safe working environment
  • Ensuring plant and equipment is safe
  • Providing information about workplace hazards
  • Supervising and monitoring the work where appropriate

Principal contractor — construction sites

Heightened duties for the principal contractor (Section 35)

On a construction site, the principal contractor is the PCBU with management or control of the worksite. The principal contractor has duties that go beyond those of other PCBUs on the site:

  • Must prepare and implement a Site-Specific Safety Plan (SSSP)
  • Must ensure all PCBUs on the site comply with the SSSP
  • Must ensure Safe Work Method Statements exist for all high-risk construction work
  • Controls access to and movement around the site
  • Coordinates all health and safety activities on the site

The contractor's own obligations

Contractors are PCBUs too

Contractors are themselves PCBUs and have their own primary duty of care to their workers and others. Being engaged by another PCBU does not reduce or transfer a contractor's duties. Each party must fulfil their own obligations and cooperate with others.

Practical steps for managing contractor safety

  • Before engaging: verify the contractor's health and safety capability and systems
  • Before work starts: induct the contractor into your workplace hazards and rules
  • Require SWMS for high-risk work before it begins
  • Monitor the contractor's work and compliance during the job
  • Coordinate with the contractor on shared hazards
  • Include health and safety requirements in contracts
Source: Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, Sections 34–36. WorkSafe NZ guidance at worksafe.govt.nz. This is general information, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer all health and safety responsibility to a contractor by contract?
No. You cannot contract out of your duties under the HSWA. A contract can allocate responsibility between parties, but it cannot remove your legal obligation to the contractor's workers. If they are injured in your workplace, you may still be liable.
Do I need to induct self-employed contractors?
Yes. Self-employed contractors are workers under the HSWA and you owe them the same duty of care as employees. They must be inducted into your workplace hazards and rules before starting work.
Who is the principal contractor on a construction project?
The principal contractor is usually the head contractor who has the most control over the construction site. It is often specified in the contract. If there is no designated principal contractor, the PCBU that commissioned the construction work takes on those duties.
What should be in a contractor induction?
At minimum: workplace hazards and controls, emergency procedures and evacuation routes, site rules (PPE requirements, restricted areas, speed limits), incident reporting process, and who the site H&S contact is. Document that each contractor completed the induction.

Construction and contracting businesses: manage your obligations

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