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Due Diligence
The Act encourages officers to proactively undertake due diligence to ensure health and safety is prioritised by the practice. This not only improves health and safety at the practice, but reduces the risk of liability. Due diligence involves making governance decisions that do not adversely or negatively affect health and safety, and taking reasonable steps to:
- know about work health and safety matters and keep up-to-date
- gain an understanding of the operations of the practice and the hazards and risks generally associated with those operations
- ensure the practice has appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise those risks
- ensure the practice has appropriate processes for receiving information about incidents, hazards, and risks, and for responding to that information
- ensure the practice has, and implements, processes for complying with any duty or obligation
- verify that these resources and processes are in place and being used.
As part of our due diligence, we:
- thoroughly induct all new staff and locums into our health and safety policies and procedures
- include health and safety as a standing agenda item for staff meetings
- regularly review our resources and processes for managing potential risks
- talk to staff about health and safety issues and encourage feedback
- encourage feedback from staff in reviewing practice policies
- observe day-to-day activities
- include health and safety issues in practice communications
- ensure resources are planned and budgeted, and used for health and safety issues
- keep up to date with Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health and other government/organisational advisories
- read and action GPDocs advisories
- engage health and safety advisors when appropriate
- include risk management in all planning, including discussing health and safety requirements with contractors and other health providers.
Failure to take due diligence
There are three offences under the Act relating to failure to take due diligence:
- Reckless conduct in respect to duty
- Failing to comply with duty that exposes individual to risk of death or serious injury or serious illness
- Failing to comply with duty.
These offences carry penalties depending on who has failed in exercising due diligence, and the severity of the non-compliance.
WorkSafe | Mahi Haumaru Aotearoa will prosecute in the most serious situations where non-compliance has been serious or flagrant, or the harm or potential harm is severe. See Prosecutions on WorkSafe New Zealand.
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