As of 1 December 2017, the rules and regulations around hazardous substance management in New Zealand Workplaces transfer from the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO) to the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017.
The changes are made in an attempt to reduce related incidents and/or injury to workforce around New Zealand. With the changes in place, HSNO will still be implemented by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) but with a larger focus on upstream activities, i.e. approving and classifying hazardous substances; while WorkSafe will focus on administering and enforcing workplace requirements as stipulated in the Regulations. This is important for business, as around 1 in every 3 businesses in New Zealand will be affected by these changes.
See the relevant links here: