New Asbestos Regulations for New Zealand

Did you know that licensed asbestos removal businesses must have a certified safety management system (SMS) by 4 April 2018 as part of the new asbestos regulations? A SMS is an established set of processes to manage health and safety and maintain a high safety standard in the workplace. It should include accountabilities, policies and procedures, and be appropriate to the size and complexity of your asbestos removal business. It takes time to develop a system and have it audited. Your licence will become invalid if you don't have a certified system by 4 April 2018. This means you must stop working to remove asbestos until you have a valid licence. If you continue to work in the removal business without a valid licence, you run the risk of prosecution by WorkSafe. There may be other consequences, such as invalid insurance

The list below gives you an idea of what should be covered by the SMS:

Health and safety policy

Planning requirements:

1. Hazard identification, risk assessment and determining controls
2. Legal and other requirements
3. Objectives and programme(s)

Implementation requirements:

1. Resources, roles, responsibility, accountability and authority
2. Competence, training and awareness
3. Communication, participation and consultation
4. Documentation requirements, including control of documents
5. Operational controls
6. Emergency preparedness and response

Checking requirements:

1. Performance measurement and monitoring
2. Evaluation of compliance
3. Incident investigation, nonconformity, corrective action and preventive action
4. Control of records
5. Internal audit
6. Management review

Asbestos regulations New Zealand - http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2016/0015/19.0/DLM6729706.html