Workplace health and safety basics: free online awareness course for New Zealand workers
Your rights and duties under New Zealand's Health and Safety at Work Act: reporting hazards, stopping unsafe work, HSRs, PPE, and the changes from 1 April 2027.
About 38 min
5 short modules
15 questions
85% to pass
About this course
It is your first week in a new job. Someone hands you a pair of gloves, points at a sign-in sheet and says to tell a supervisor about any problems. This course explains what sits behind that moment: who is responsible for what under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, how to report hazards, when you can stop work, and who can help you. It takes about 40 minutes on a phone or computer, and each lesson links to the Act and WorkSafe guidance it is based on.
If your employer requires workplace health and safety training, ask whether they provide or fund it before purchasing this optional certificate. The Act does not let a business charge its workers for anything done or provided for health and safety. This course sits alongside your workplace's own induction and training, and does not replace them.
You can study and sit the assessment free, with no account. Team leaders can use it as a quick refresher on the questions new staff ask. WorkSafe also publishes free guidance for workers and a free online safety game, linked on this page, and you may prefer them. Pay only if you pass and want our certificate for your own records.
What you will learn
Explain who holds which health and safety duties: businesses, officers, workers and other people at a workplace
Tell a hazard from a risk, and put controls in the order the law expects: eliminate first, then minimise
Describe your own duties as a worker and how to report hazards, near misses and concerns
Recognise when you can stop work that would expose someone to a serious risk, and what to do next
Explain what a health and safety representative does and how to ask for one
Recognise the kinds of event that are notifiable and what to do at the scene
Identify who pays for PPE and for health and safety training an employer requires
Who this course is for
New workers in any New Zealand workplace who want the basics before or soon after they start
People returning to work, changing sector, or working as contractors, casuals or volunteer workers
Team leaders who want plain answers to the questions new starters ask
How the course works
1. Who does what under the ActThe four roles in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and why a team leader is usually not an officer.About 6 min, ending with a quick check
2. Hazards, risks and controlsTell a hazard from a risk, and see why removing a hazard comes before handing out gloves.About 5 min, ending with a quick check
3. Your duties, reports and concernsWhat you must do as a worker, how to report hazards and near misses, and where to go if nothing changes.About 5 min, ending with a quick check
4. Stopping unsafe work and getting supportWhen you can stop or refuse work, what to do next, and how health and safety representatives can help.About 5 min, ending with a quick check
5. Serious events, PPE and who paysWhat makes an event notifiable, what to do at the scene, and who pays for safety gear and required training.About 6 min, ending with a quick check
Sit the assessment15 questions drawn at random. You need 85% to pass, and there is no time limit. If you do not pass, you will see which topics to review, then try again with a new set of questions.Free, and so are retries
If you pass, the certificate is your choiceYou pay once, then get the PDF straight away and a copy by email. Your place is saved on this device the whole way, with no sign-up.NZ$24.90, optional
Sample. Yours shows your name, the course, the date and an ID anyone can check.
What this certificate does and does not show
It is general awareness. It does not replace the induction, training, instruction and supervision your workplace must give you for your own tasks, equipment and site.
If your employer requires workplace health and safety training, ask whether they provide or fund it before purchasing this optional certificate. This awareness course does not replace workplace-specific training or induction. Do not buy the certificate just because someone told you to.
It is not a qualification, and it does not show that you, your employer or anyone else has met a legal duty.
It is not legal advice. For a real dispute or injury, talk to WorkSafe, your union, an HSR or a lawyer.
It describes the law in force in November 2026. The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 changes some duties from 1 April 2027. The course points out the main changes, but check WorkSafe's guidance after that date.
Do I have to pay for health and safety training my employer requires?
Ask your employer first. Section 27 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 says a business must not charge a worker for anything done or provided for health and safety. If your employer requires workplace health and safety training, ask whether they provide or fund it before purchasing this optional certificate. If you are asked to pay for something the business must provide, raise it with your manager or HSR, talk to your union, or call WorkSafe on 0800 030 040.
Will my employer accept the certificate?
Ask them first. Each employer decides what training it accepts, and this course does not replace the induction and training your workplace must give you. You can study and sit the assessment free. The optional certificate costs NZ$24.90 and is a record for yourself, so do not buy it because an employer told you to.
What free options are there?
WorkSafe's page on workers' rights and obligations, and its fact sheet in 17 languages, are free and cover many of the same basics. Its Pickled! game is free to play on a phone. They are linked on this page, and you may prefer them.
Is the law about to change?
Yes. The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 became law on 9 July 2026, and its changes start on 1 April 2027. Businesses with fewer than 20 workers will focus their main duties on critical risks, and larger businesses must put critical risks first. The rule that a business must not charge workers for health and safety is not changed. This course describes the law in force in November 2026.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is general awareness based on the Act and WorkSafe guidance. For a real dispute or a serious event, talk to WorkSafe, your union, an HSR or a lawyer.
Official sources behind this course
The lessons are original summaries of these sources. For your own situation, the source is what counts.
Version 1.1.2, last checked 2026-11-03. Approved for publication by our editor on 2026-11-09. Not reviewed by an external professional. How we check our content.
Spot what makes a manual task risky, report it early and know what better controls look like. Drawn from WorkSafe guidance. Not lifting technique or moving people.
What a new worker in New Zealand is owed: a written agreement, minimum pay, breaks, leave and fair treatment, and what to do when something goes wrong.
42 min
5 modules
Free to study
Certificate NZ$24.90if you pass
View course
Passed 2 or more courses? Buy their certificates together and pay 20% less.
