General Business · Employer knowledge

Contractors & overlapping work

When contractors, clients, landlords or other businesses share influence over the same health and safety matter, identify the overlap, exchange the information each party needs and coordinate the controls instead of assuming the contract transfers responsibility.

Current law — overlapping duties

Under current HSWA sections 33 and 34, more than one person can hold the same health and safety duty. Each duty holder retains responsibility to the extent of its ability to influence and control the matter. PCBUs sharing a duty must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities with each other.

A business cannot contract out of its HSWA duties. Agreements can allocate practical tasks, but they do not erase the underlying statutory responsibility.

Manager focus

Select appropriatelyConsider whether a contractor has the capability, information and resources relevant to the work and its risks.

Exchange informationShare site, task, emergency and risk information each business needs before work starts and as conditions change.

Agree controlsIdentify overlaps and decide who is best placed to control each matter, reflecting actual influence and control rather than job titles or contract wording alone.

Monitor arrangementsUse reasonable and proportionate checks to make sure agreed arrangements are actually working.

Manager check

Have we identified which PCBUs have duties relating to the same health and safety matters?
Have relevant risks and controls been discussed before the work starts?
Are roles and practical responsibilities clear to the people doing and overseeing the work?
Are changes, incidents and new risks communicated between businesses?
Are our monitoring arrangements proportionate to the work and our ability to influence or control it?
Are we avoiding contract clauses or practices that simply push unmanaged risk down the contracting chain?

Legal change from 1 April 2027

The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 changes the overlapping-duties framework from 1 April 2027. WorkSafe has published transition guidance. NZQC therefore keeps the current section 34 duty above as the rule in force now and will update this guide as the amended provisions commence.

WorkSafe overlapping duties →HSWA section 34 →Back to General Business 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.