These new regulations put more responsibility and liability on business owners, to look after the wellbeing of their staff.

The key changes in regulations are set to:

• Reinforce what a business needs to do dependent on risk level and the ability to control these risks;
• Ensure management of risks, rather than purely identification of hazards;
• Introduce a ‘reasonably practical’ concept, focusing on what is reasonable for a business to do;
• Change the focus from the physical workplace, to the actions of the business and what it can control.

Farm Health and Safety Plans are available from numerous private companies and contractors, or growers can create their own using approved templates. WorkSafe has developed an on�line Farm Health and Safety Plan which can be downloaded free of charge from its website: http://saferfarms.org.nz/

Federated Farmers is also developing a template and are planning a series of workshops in the near future.

Source: FAR