New law passed reshapes NZ EPA’s role in managing hazardous substances

The health and safety reform legislation has now been passed by New Zealand Parliament. 
 

The Health and Safety Reform Bill has: 
 

• made changes to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act through the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Amendment Act 2015.

• replaced the Health and Safety in Employment Act with a new Health and Safety at Work Act. This Act will take effect on 4 April 2016.
 

These important changes to the law will reshape the Environmental Protection Authority’s work, and its role in managing hazardous substances in New Zealand. 
 

The EPA’s new role in setting rules for hazardous substances
 

The changes to the HSNO Act give the EPA the power to issue EPA Notices. 
 

These are a new legal tool for setting rules for hazardous substances. 
 

EPA Notices are issued by the EPA Board after a process that involves public consultation. They are different to Regulations, which must be approved through Cabinet.
 

In the coming months the agency will issue their first EPA Notice, which covers the minimum qualification requirements for hazardous substance enforcement officers appointed under the HSNO Act.  
 

Changes to hazardous substances management
 

The passing of the Health and Safety Reform Bill marks an important step in the Government’s work to reform New Zealand’s regulation of health and safety. 
 

This reform will make significant changes to the way hazardous substances are managed. 
 

In future, WorkSafe New Zealand will be in charge of the rules for using hazardous substances at work. 
 

WorkSafe will also take on most of the responsibility for approving the people who certify that other people are competent to handle high-risk substances, or that sites or equipment meet certain standards.
 

The EPA will continue to receive applications for hazardous substances, assess their risks and decide whether they should be approved for use in New Zealand.  
 

The EPA will also set the controls that apply no matter where the substance is used, such as labelling and packaging requirements, and controls to protect public health and the environment.  
 

But the EPA will no longer set controls on the use, handling, storage or manufacture of a hazardous substance in the workplace. 
 

That role will become the responsibility of WorkSafe when new regulations for hazardous substances are made under the Health and Safety at Work Act.