19 June 2023
File Ref: 230475
Paul Lynch
[FYI request #22848 email]
Dear Paul
Thank you for your Official Information Act request received on 18 May 2023. You requested:
Could you please provide me with the following information:
1: How many successful prosecutions has WorkSafe NZ made across all sectors in the years since
its inception? 2: How many investigations into workplace bullying have been conducted by Worksafe NZ in the
years since its inception and how many of those have been successfully prosecuted?
Information being released
1. How many successful prosecutions has WorkSafe NZ made across all sectors in the years
since its inception?
There have been 645 successful prosecutions from 1 April 2014 to 31 May 2023.
The prosecutions are broken down by sector as follows:
Count of Industry
Industry
Total
Accommodation and Food Services
10
Agriculture
45
Arts and Recreation Services
26
Construction
150
Consumer – Beauty Treatments
1
Earthworks/Roading
4
Education and Training
7
Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
30
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services
6
Engineering
1
Forestry
41
Logistics
1
Manufacturing
163
Mining
12
Not Stated/Other services
90
Painting
1
Public Administration and Safety
7
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services
3
Retail Trade
12
Transport Postal and Warehousing
30
Wholesale Trade
5
Grand Total
645
Level 6, 86 Customhouse Quay
PO Box 165, Wellington 6140
2. How many investigations into workplace bullying have been conducted by Worksafe NZ in
the years since its inception and how many of those have been successful y prosecuted?
I am not able to respond to this part of your request using the terminology “investigations”.
WorkSafe has no specific data to release where WorkSafe has “investigated” allegations of bullying.
This is because the work WorkSafe does in this area is broader in scope than bullying.
I am therefore refusing that part of your request under Section 18(g) of the Act as the information
is not held and Section 18(f) of the Act as the information cannot be made available without
substantial collation or research. WorkSafe does not collate or record data in a way that enables
your request to be answered.
However, I am able to provide some further information in relation to our Mentally Healthy Work
programme.
In late 2020 WorkSafe established a Mentally Healthy Work (MHW) team to provide subject matter
expertise and guidance, and in early 2021 a team of specialist health inspectors (Kaimahi Hauora)
was established to lead work and support other operational staff in assessing and regulating
psychosocial risks at work.
We have MHW notifications data readily available from 2019-2023 (to date). Please note that this
data does not solely represent workplace bullying notifications. Listed below are the Mentally Healthy
work risks included in notifications, but are not limited to:
• aspects of how work is organized, e.g., roles and expectations, job demands, workload and
work pace.
• social factors at work, e.g., interpersonal relationships, bullying and victimization,
harassment, violence at work, supervision, and support.
• work environment, equipment, and hazardous tasks, e.g., poor workplace conditions,
working in extreme conditions.
A summary of the numbers is provided in the table below:
Year
Number of Concerns
or Notifications
2019
69
2020
20
2021
134
2022
229
2023 (to
date – 12
June
107
2023)
While no prosecutions have been initiated to date, we are engaging more directly with workers and
business with regard to bul ying and harassment issues and issuing an increasing number of
enforcement notices; these are issued through an assessment process rather than an investigation
process. Please note that the majority of MHW notifications require engagement and education – an
opportunity to:
• provide guidance and education to notifiers and PCBUs,
• referring notifiers to other agencies appropriate to deal with the specific concerns raised,
• having conversations with PCBUs regarding their current policies and procedures around
MHW work and reminding them of their responsibility under HSWA.
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This reply addresses the information you requested. You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
investigate and review my decision, and further information is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
If you require further assistance, please contact
[email address] .
Yours sincerely
Catherine Spiller
Acting Head of Health and Technical Delivery
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