If you have never had an audit done, or if the last one was more than 12 months ago, the question is not whether there are gaps. There are gaps. The question is whether you find them before WorkSafe, a client, or an incident does.
This guide covers what a workplace health and safety audit actually involves in New Zealand, what the auditor checks, and when you need one.
What a Health and Safety Audit Checks
A thorough audit covers both the physical site and the documentation behind your health and safety management. These are two different things, and most businesses have problems with at least one of them.
Physical site inspection
- Access and egress: can people get in and out safely, including in an emergency?
- Housekeeping: are work areas tidy, walkways clear, and spills dealt with?
- Equipment and machinery: is it maintained, guarded, and safe to use?
- Electrical safety: are leads in good condition, RCDs tested, switchboards accessible?
- Hazardous substances: are they stored, labelled, and handled correctly?
- Fire safety: are alarms working, extinguishers current, evacuation routes clear?
- First aid: is the kit stocked, accessible, and is a trained first aider available?
- Signage: are hazards, exits, and safety information clearly marked?
- PPE: is it available, in good condition, and being used where required?
Documentation review
- Health and safety policy: does one exist, and does it reflect reality?
- Hazard register: is it current for the actual work being done?
- Risk assessments: have risks been assessed and are controls documented?
- Training records: are they up to date, and are licences and tickets current?
- Incident records: are incidents and near misses being reported and investigated?
- Emergency plan: are contacts, evacuation routes, and procedures current?
- Contractor management: are contractor inductions and records in place?
An auditor is looking for the gap between what the paperwork says and what is actually happening on site. A policy that says "all visitors must be inducted" means nothing if no induction process exists.
When You Need a Health and Safety Audit
- You have not had an independent check of your site in the last 12 months
- A client, principal, or prequalification scheme is asking for audit evidence
- You have had an incident or a near miss and want to check for broader issues
- You have moved to a new site, expanded, or changed your operations
- You are about to apply for SiteWise or Tōtika and want to check your site before an assessor does
- WorkSafe has contacted you and you want to get ahead of any issues
Audit vs. Risk Assessment vs. Gap Analysis
These three services sound similar but answer different questions.
| Service | What it checks | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Site Audit (this topic) | Physical site conditions and on-site documentation across the whole workplace | On-site inspection |
| Risk Assessment | Specific hazards, their likelihood and severity, and whether controls are adequate | On-site, hazard-focused |
| Gap Analysis | Your documented H&S system as a whole, checked against HSWA 2015 | Documentation review, no site visit |
An audit is the broadest of the three. It looks at both physical conditions and documentation across the whole site. A risk assessment drills into specific hazards. A gap analysis checks the paperwork without visiting the site. Many businesses benefit from more than one, but they start in different places depending on the problem.
Can You Audit Your Own Site?
You can, and regular internal checks are good practice. But internal audits have a limitation: you see what you are used to seeing. A forklift crossing a pedestrian path every day stops looking dangerous after the first month. An expired fire extinguisher in a storeroom stays expired because nobody checks the storeroom.
An external audit brings a set of eyes that has no familiarity with your site and no assumptions about how things work. The auditor checks what is actually there, not what should be there. That is why prequalification schemes, clients, and WorkSafe value independent audits more than self-assessments.
What Happens After an Audit
A good audit does not just list problems. It gives you a prioritised action plan that tells you what to fix first, what can wait, and what you are already doing well. The report should be written in language you can act on without needing a consultant to explain it.
After the audit, you should:
- Fix the highest-priority items first
- Update your hazard register with any new hazards identified
- Brief your team on any changes to procedures or controls
- File the report as evidence of active safety management
- Schedule the next audit (12 months is the standard cycle for most workplaces)
If the audit identifies that your whole system needs work, not just the site conditions, a gap analysis or a full OHSMS build is the logical next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, section 36: primary duty of care for PCBUs. legislation.govt.nz
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016, regulation 8: duty to review control measures. legislation.govt.nz
- WorkSafe New Zealand, getting started with health and safety: practical guidance for businesses on meeting HSWA duties. worksafe.govt.nz