WorkSafe codes & guidelines
Code and guidance development requires the following process:
- WorkSafe New Zealand develops a working draft for initial review
- MinEx and WorkSafe establish industry groups for the review of technical content
- WorkSafe finalises a document based on review outcomes
- WorkSafe releases the document for formal industry-wide consultation
- Ministerial approval of document (for an Approved Code of Practice) WorkSafe releases document
These documents have been released by WorkSafe New Zealand:
- Dust guidance
- Managing psychosocial risks at work (Good Practice Guidelines)
- Conducting asbestos surveys: Good practice guidelines for asbestos surveyors (Good Practice Guidelines)
- Managing worksite traffic (Guide)
- Controlling dust with on-tool water suppression (Guide)
- Controlled Substance Licence Requirements for specified class 1 substances Safe Work Instrument 2023
- Modified application of controlled substance licence requirements for specified licence requirements for specified class 1 substances
- How to complete the Mining, Tunnelling, Quarrying and alluvial Operations quarterly Report form (Step by step guide)
- Workplace exposure standards and biological exposure indices (Guide)
- Quarry Operators COVID19 Management Plan Assessment Tool (Spreadsheet for Essential Service quarry operations)
- Health and Safety at Opencast Mines, Alluvial Mines and Quarries (Good Practice Guide)
- Air Quality in the Extractives Industry (Approved Code of Practice)
- Emergency Preparedness in Mining and Tunnelling Operations (Approved Code of Practice)
- Ground or Strata Instability in Underground Mines and Tunnels (Approved Code of Practice)
- Ventilation in Undergound Mines and Tunnels (Approved Code of Practice)
- Fire or Explosion in Underground Mines and Tunnels (Approved Code of Practice)
- Developing a Ground or Strata Instability Principal Hazard Management Plan (Guide)
- Electricity in Underground Mines and Tunnels (Guide)
- Managing Health Risks in the Extractives Industry (Quick Guide)
- Preventing Manual Handling Injuries (Approved Code of Practice)
- Exposure monitoring under the HSWA (General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 (Fact Sheet)
- General Risk and Workplace Management (Part 1 Interpretive Guidelines)
- General Risk and Workplace Management (Part 2 Interpretive Guidelines).
- Introduction to the HSWA 2015 (Special Guide)
- Worker Engagement, Participation and Representation (Good Practice Guidelines)
- Workplace Exposure Standards and Biological Exposure Indicies (Special Guide)
- Hazardous Substance Risk Management (Quick Guide)
- What the Hazardous Substances Regulations mean for you
- Working at Heights in New Zealand (Best Practice Guidelines)
- The New Zealand manual handling assessment charts (NZMAC)
- The New Zealand risk assessment of pushing and pulling (NZRAPP)
- The New Zealand assessment of repetitive tasks of the upper limbs (NZART)
Mining Operations and Quarrying Operations Safe Work Instruments Amendment
WorkSafe has released a consolidated version of the Health and Safety at Work (Mining Operations and Quarrying Operations—Prescribed Competency Requirements for Certificates of Competence) Amendment Safe Work Instrument 2023.
This consolidated Safe Work Instrument (SWI) outlines the competency requirements for issuing or renewing certificates of competence within the extractives industry.
Under the Health and Safety at Work (Mining Operations and Quarrying Operations) Regulations 2016, individuals in safety-critical roles must hold a current certificate of competence.
The consolidated SWI brings together the principal 2023 instrument and its 2025 amendment, providing all requirements in one document for ease of reference. While this version is a helpful summary, it is intended for reference only. For full details, refer to:
- Health and Safety at Work (Mining Operations and Quarrying Operations – Prescribed Competency Requirements for Certificates of Competence) Safe Work Instrument 2023
- Health and Safety at Work (Mining Operations and Quarrying Operations—Prescribed Competency Requirements for Certificates of Competence) Amendment Safe Work Instrument 2025