Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver

According to a new report, the cost of workplace injuries rose to $4.9 billion in 2023, up from $4.4 billion the previous year.

The State of a flourishing nation The report was published on Monday by the Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum.

The report, authored by economist Shamubeel Eaqub, puts the cost of lost lives and income, serious injuries to ACC and health problems at $4.9 billion.

“If we could match Australia’s performance, we could save New Zealand $1.4 billion a year, and if we could match Britain’s performance, we would save $3.4 billion a year,” said forum executive director Francois Barton.

The report also found that almost 50 percent of New Zealanders have been affected by a work-related accident involving themselves, a colleague, family or friends.

Fifty percent of respondents said they had a positive perception of New Zealand’s health and safety performance.

When asked how much they would personally be willing to pay for greater workplace safety, 55 percent said they would be willing to pay an amount equivalent to $730 million per year for the population.

“It is telling that New Zealanders choose to pay for their work out of their own pocket so it does not hurt them, and that almost half the population is affected by poor workplace health and safety,” Eaqub said.

In New Zealand, the number of fatal accidents in the workplace is 60 percent higher than in Australia and more than 500 percent higher than in the UK, he said.

“Australia and the UK have similar legislation to us, but something is not working in New Zealand.”

The report found that regulatory interventions in Aotearoa were more reactive than in Australia.

The New Zealand regulatory system also lacked a control and coordination mechanism, a so-called “system administration”, which Barton said was at the heart of the successful British regulatory approach.

“As our regulatory system matures and we look to raise our performance to the level of Australia and the UK, we need to see more proactive action from regulators and a clear and explicit commitment from government to improve oversight and accountability of the entire health and safety system,” he said.

“With the Minister for Industrial Relations and Safety, the Honourable Brooke van Velden, announcing an inquiry into health and safety, we urge her to consider the findings of this report to enable a more responsive health and safety system where businesses and workers know where improvements are needed, where risks arise and how best to mitigate those risks.”

Announcing the inquiry in June, van Velden said the government was seeking feedback on areas such as whether health and safety requirements were too strict or unclear to comply with; difficulties caused by overlap between health and safety laws and other requirements; and the measures companies were taking, the reasons for those measures and their effectiveness.

The Government also wanted to know whether the consequences for non-compliance with health and safety obligations are proportionate and balanced and whether the threshold for dealing with work-related risks is set too low or too high.