Agriculture & Horticulture · Employer knowledge

Hazardous substances

Know what hazardous substances are on site, manage the risks they create, train the people who use them, and check which additional controls apply to the classifications and quantities you actually hold.

The Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 require a PCBU with management or control of a workplace to prepare and maintain an up-to-date inventory of hazardous substances used, handled, manufactured or stored there. The inventory includes key information such as product or chemical name, maximum quantity, location, storage or segregation requirements and current safety data sheet information.

Current safety data sheets must be obtained in the circumstances set by the regulations and made readily accessible to relevant workers and emergency responders. Workers who use, handle, manufacture or store hazardous substances must receive the required information, training and instruction before doing or supervising that work, including practical experience under direct supervision.

Additional duties — such as particular signage, emergency management, location compliance certificates or certified-handler requirements — depend on the substance, hazard classification, quantity and circumstances. Do not assume that every farm or orchard has the same threshold requirements.

What should a manager have in place?

Inventory & SDSMaintain the required hazardous-substances inventory and current SDS information. Use it to understand what is present, where it is kept, its maximum quantity and relevant storage or segregation requirements.

Risk controls & storageManage risks from agrichemicals, fuels and other hazardous substances according to their classification, quantity and use. Check labels, storage, segregation, ignition sources, spills and exposure controls as relevant.

Training & practical experienceBefore workers use or supervise work involving hazardous substances, provide the information, training, instruction and supervised practical experience required by the regulations. Keep the required training record.

Threshold-based requirementsUse the current regulations and WorkSafe calculator/guidance to determine whether signage, an emergency response plan, compliance certification, certified handlers or other additional controls apply to the substances and quantities at your workplace.

Agrichemical standard

NZS 8409:2021 — Management of Agrichemicals is the current New Zealand Standard specifically addressing safe, responsible and effective agrichemical management. It can support good-practice systems for agrichemical use, but NZQC does not reproduce the copyrighted Standard and does not treat the Standard as a substitute for checking applicable legislation, EPA controls, product labels, regional requirements or other legal obligations.

Manager check

Is our hazardous-substances inventory current and does it reflect what is actually on site?
Are current SDSs readily accessible to workers who may need them and to emergency responders as required?
Are containers appropriately labelled and are substances stored and segregated according to applicable requirements?
Have workers received the required information, training, instruction and supervised practical experience before using or supervising hazardous-substance work?
Have we checked the classifications and maximum quantities against current threshold-based requirements rather than assuming signage or certification is always — or never — required?
Where we use agrichemicals, have we considered NZS 8409:2021 alongside current legislation, EPA controls, labels and any relevant regional requirements?
Do emergency arrangements reflect the hazardous substances actually present at the workplace?

NZ Hazardous Substances Regulations →WorkSafe hazardous substances →WorkSafe inventory guidance →Back to Agriculture & Horticulture Hub

NZQC provides practical educational information. It is not legal advice and does not certify that a provider is compliant. Check the official source and the requirements that apply to your service, contracts and scope.