nz-psychosocial-checker

New Zealand Psychosocial Hazard Management — Complete Reference

Purpose

This skill provides the verified New Zealand-specific legislative and guidance framework for managing psychosocial hazards at work. It extracts key provisions from three source documents:

1. Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA 2015) — primary legislation establishing PCBU duties (s 36), officer due diligence (s 44), definitions, and enforcement
2. General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 — framework for identifying and managing risks including psychosocial hazards (rr 8–11)
3. Good Practice Guidelines: Managing Psychosocial Risks at Work — advisory guidance issued by WorkSafe New Zealand; psychosocial hazard categories, risk management process, responding to complaints, issue and dispute resolution, case studies, hazard examples, control measure examples

This is a reference skill — it is not intended as a standalone user tool. It is loaded by action skills (e.g. psychosocial gap analysis, risk register builder) when they need to verify or cite NZ-specific psychosocial hazard provisions.

For general HSWA 2015 and Regulation provisions (duties, offences, penalties, incident notification, general risk management), refer to relevant NZ WHS legislation checkers.

For Australian Model psychosocial provisions (Model WHS Bill, Model WHS Regulations Division 11, Model CoP: Managing Psychosocial Hazards, Model SGBH CoP), refer to this skill's Model baseline sections for cross-jurisdictional comparison.

Critical Note: New Zealand operates under HSWA 2015, which is fundamentally different from the Australian harmonised WHS framework. NZ has no equivalent to Australian Division 11 (rr 55A–55D). Psychosocial hazards are managed under the general risk management framework (rr 8–11 of the Regulations) and the broad "health" definition which includes mental health. Good Practice Guidelines are advisory guidance, not approved Codes of Practice.

Critical Rules

1. Only cite provisions that appear in the section files. Never fabricate or assume section numbers, regulation numbers, page references or content.
2. Citation format — legislation: Use "s [number]" for HSWA 2015 sections (e.g. "s 36 of the HSWA 2015") and "r [number]" or "rr [range]" for General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 (e.g. "r 8" or "rr 8–11").
3. Citation format — Good Practice Guidelines: Reference by title and chapter/section/appendix (e.g. "Good Practice Guidelines: Managing Psychosocial Risks at Work, s 3.2.2" or "Good Practice Guidelines, Appendix A").
4. Use conservative, factual language when describing legislative obligations and Good Practice Guidelines guidance. Avoid subjective or emotive terms — describe requirements in objective terms.
5. Always use Australian English spelling (e.g. behaviour, organisation, colour, defence, licence [noun], minimise, analyse).
6. Distinguish between sources. HSWA 2015 and the Regulations prescribe specific legal duties. The Good Practice Guidelines provide advisory guidance on how to manage psychosocial hazards and meet those duties. GPGs are not mandatory but represent best practice.
7. NZ framework is distinct from Australian harmonised WHS. New Zealand uses HSWA 2015 (not WHS Act), has different section numbers and duty structures, and uses advisory GPGs (not approved Codes of Practice). There is no specific psychosocial division equivalent to Australian Division 11 (rr 55A–55D).
8. Cross-reference with Australian Model provisions where appropriate. The Model baseline sections provide context for understanding how NZ requirements compare with the Australian Model framework. This is useful for multinational clients or consultants advising across AU/NZ.
9. If a provision cannot be located in these files, state that the specific provision should be verified against the current legislation and indicate which source document it is likely found in.

Section Index

Read the relevant section file(s) based on the subject matter of the query:

NZ HSWA 2015 and Regulations

File	Content	When to Read
sections/nz-hswa-psychosocial.md	HSWA 2015 (s 36 PCBU primary duty, s 44 officer due diligence, definitions including "health" and "PCBU"), General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 (rr 8–11 risk management framework for all workplace risks including psychosocial), penalties	PCBU duty (s 36); officer due diligence (s 44); PCBU and officer definitions; "health" definition (includes mental health); risk management framework; duty to ensure so far as reasonably practicable

NZ Good Practice Guidelines: Managing Psychosocial Risks at Work

File	Chapters	When to Read
sections/nz-gpg-introduction.md	Chapters 1–2	Psychosocial hazard definition, psychosocial hazard categories, WHS duties (PCBU s 36, officer s 44, workers, health and safety representatives), reasonably practicable test, consultation requirements, relevant NZ legislation, structure of GPG
sections/nz-gpg-risk-management.md	Chapters 3–3.5	Identifying hazards (psychosocial hazard categories, identification methods, workplace data sources), assessing risk (duration/frequency/severity, vulnerability, cumulative effect, risk assessment methods), controlling risk (HSWA 2015 s 36, General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 rr 8–11, control measures, hierarchy of controls, eliminating risks, minimising risks — substitution/isolation/engineering, administrative controls, information/training/instruction, combining controls), maintaining and reviewing (review triggers), recording the risk management process
sections/nz-gpg-response-resolution.md	Chapters 4–5	Responding to complaints/incidents/reports (encouraging reporting, barriers to reporting, response principles, HSR role, response procedures, responding to violence and aggression, notifiable incident requirements, workers' compensation), issue and dispute resolution (resolution procedures)
sections/nz-gpg-appendices.md	Appendices	Additional resources, case studies, examples, templates

Australian Model Baseline Sections (for cross-jurisdictional comparison)

File	Content	When to Read
sections/model-whs-bill-duties.md	Model WHS Bill Division 11 (Australian baseline for comparison with NZ framework)	Understanding Australian Model baseline duties; understanding how NZ framework differs from Australian harmonised WHS
sections/model-whs-regs-psychosocial.md	Model WHS Regulations rr 55A–55D (Australian psychosocial hazard/risk definitions, duty to manage, control measure matters)	Understanding Australian Model psychosocial-specific requirements; comparing with NZ general risk management framework
sections/model-cop-hazards.md	Model CoP hazard descriptions (Australian baseline)	Detailed Australian baseline hazard definitions for comparison with NZ categories
sections/model-cop-risk-management.md	Model CoP risk management process (Australian baseline)	Australian baseline process guidance for comparison with NZ GPG
sections/model-cop-investigations.md	Model CoP investigation guidance (Australian baseline)	Australian baseline investigation methodology for comparison
sections/model-cop-appendix-a.md, sections/model-cop-appendix-b.md, sections/model-cop-appendix-c.md	Model CoP appendices (Australian baseline)	Australian baseline supporting material for comparison
sections/model-sgbh-identification.md	Model SGBH CoP: identification and risk factors (Australian baseline)	Australian baseline SGBH identification guidance for comparison
sections/model-sgbh-controls.md	Model SGBH CoP: control measures and strategies (Australian baseline)	Australian baseline SGBH control guidance for comparison
sections/model-sgbh-investigation.md	Model SGBH CoP: investigation best practice (Australian baseline)	Australian baseline SGBH investigation methodology for comparison
sections/model-sgbh-leadership.md	Model SGBH CoP: leadership and cultural change (Australian baseline)	Australian baseline organisational culture and leadership guidance for comparison

Workflow

1. Identify the subject matter from the calling skill's query or the user's request
2. Read the relevant section file(s) — read only what is needed to answer the query
3. Cite provisions accurately from the extracted text, using the citation formats above
4. Cross-reference with Australian Model provisions where appropriate for comparative context
5. Note NZ legislative framework — accurately reflect NZ legislation, regulator (WorkSafe New Zealand), and the distinction between HSWA 2015 and Australian WHS Acts

Common Query Routing

Query Topic	Primary File(s)	Key References
Psychosocial hazard/risk definitions	nz-gpg-introduction.md	GPG definition; HSWA 2015 "health" definition
Duty to manage psychosocial risks	nz-hswa-psychosocial.md	HSWA 2015 s 36; General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 rr 8–11
PCBU primary duty (general)	nz-gpg-introduction.md	HSWA 2015 s 36
Officer due diligence	nz-gpg-introduction.md, nz-hswa-psychosocial.md	HSWA 2015 s 44
Reasonably practicable test	nz-gpg-introduction.md	HSWA 2015 s 36 (duty to manage risks)
Psychosocial hazard categories	nz-gpg-introduction.md, nz-gpg-risk-management.md	GPG sections 1–2
Identifying psychosocial hazards	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 rr 8–11; GPG s 3
Risk assessment process	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	GPG s 3
Control measures	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 rr 8–11; GPG s 3
Hierarchy of controls	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	GPG s 3
Eliminating risks	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	GPG s 3
Administrative controls	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	GPG s 3
Information, training, instruction	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	HSWA 2015 s 36; GPG s 3
Combining controls	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	GPG s 3
Maintaining control measures	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	GPG s 3.4
Reviewing control measures	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	GPG s 3.4
Recording risk management process	nz-gpg-risk-management.md	GPG s 3.5
Responding to complaints/reports	nz-gpg-response-resolution.md	GPG Ch 4
Encouraging reporting	nz-gpg-response-resolution.md	GPG s 4
Responding to violence and aggression	nz-gpg-response-resolution.md	GPG s 4
Notifiable incident (psychosocial)	nz-gpg-response-resolution.md	HSWA 2015 s 36; GPG s 4
Issue resolution process	nz-gpg-response-resolution.md	GPG Ch 5
Consultation with workers	nz-gpg-introduction.md	HSWA 2015 s 36

NZ-Specific Context

New Zealand uses:

• Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA 2015) — primary legislation establishing duties and offences
• General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 — framework for identifying and managing risks, including psychosocial hazards (rr 8–11)
• PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) — the standard duty holder definition (s 36 HSWA 2015)
• Officer — directors, senior managers, and officers (s 44 HSWA 2015); must exercise due diligence to acquire and maintain knowledge, understand work health and safety, ensure appropriate resources and processes, and ensure appropriate information
• WorkSafe New Zealand — New Zealand regulator for HSWA 2015 compliance
• "Health" definition — HSWA 2015 defines "health" broadly to include both physical and mental health, and includes safe and secure work environment

NZ legislative framework — critical differences from Australian harmonised WHS:

• Separate legislation — HSWA 2015 is not part of the Australian harmonised WHS framework; has different section numbers and structures
• Primary PCBU duty — s 36 HSWA 2015: must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and other persons (not s 19 WHS Act)
• Officer due diligence — s 44 HSWA 2015: officers must exercise due diligence (different from Australian s 27 WHS Act)
• No specific psychosocial division — New Zealand Regulations do not include a psychosocial division equivalent to Australian Division 11 (rr 55A–55D). Psychosocial hazards are managed under the general risk management framework (rr 8–11 General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016) and the "health" definition which includes mental health
• Good Practice Guidelines are advisory — not approved Codes of Practice. Unlike Australian CoPs which have "deemed to comply" status, New Zealand GPGs are guidance issued by WorkSafe and represent best practice but are not mandatory. Compliance with GPGs is not required by law, but provides evidence of meeting HSWA 2015 duties
• Single national regulator — WorkSafe New Zealand, not state-based
• Duty to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable — standard for managing risks; concept similar to Australian "reasonably practicable" but in NZ legislative context

Version Information

• NZ HSWA 2015: Current as at 5 March 2026
• General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016: Current as at 5 March 2026
• Good Practice Guidelines: Managing Psychosocial Risks at Work: As provided in extraction
• Australian Model CoP and SGBH CoP: As provided for cross-jurisdictional comparison (not applicable law in NZ)
• Extraction method: Text extracted from official New Zealand Health and Safety at Work sources and WorkSafe New Zealand publications
• Licence: Crown Copyright and various official sources

Note: These are New Zealand-specific provisions under HSWA 2015. This framework is distinct from Australian harmonised WHS. For Australian jurisdictions, load the relevant Australian jurisdiction specialist plugin. For Australian Model provisions, refer to the Model baseline sections in this skill for comparison purposes only — Model provisions should not be cited as applicable law in New Zealand without verification against HSWA 2015.