When no one's watching, the question is simple: how fast could help reach them?
Working alone is legal in New Zealand, but you must manage the extra risk. The GRWM Regulations 2016 require you to manage remote or isolated work with a system that includes effective communication. Isolation is about how quickly help can reach someone — not just distance — so the essentials are reliable communication, a check-in system with escalation, and an emergency plan made before it's needed.
It's not only people deep in the bush — isolation is defined by access to help, not distance.
A lone or isolated worker is anyone who works where help can't reach them quickly if something goes wrong: a farmer across a block, a community health worker visiting homes, a tradesperson on a quiet site, a retail or service worker closing up alone, even someone in a back office of a building with poor reception. The honest test is: if this person were injured or threatened right now, how fast could someone help? If the answer is “not quickly enough,” they're a lone worker who needs managing.
Working alone is legal, but the GRWM Regulations 2016 put a specific duty on you.
Regulation 21 requires a PCBU to manage the risks to a worker who carries out remote or isolated work, and to provide a system of work that includes effective communication with the worker. That sits on top of your general HSWA duty to eliminate or minimise risks so far as is reasonably practicable. Isolation amplifies everything: a minor injury that's trivial with help nearby can become life-threatening when no one knows you're hurt.
Identify who works alone, assess their real risks, and put working communication and check-ins in place.
| Step | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Identify | List everyone who works alone, even occasionally — you can't manage what you haven't spotted. |
| Assess | Assess their specific hazards, including the consequences of being alone and any risk of violence. |
| Communicate | Provide communication that actually works where they are — not an assumption that “they have a phone.” |
| Check in | A reliable check-in schedule with a clear escalation path if they don't respond. |
| Plan for emergencies | Know in advance how help would be raised and how it would reach them. |
A large share of New Zealand's landmass — and plenty of buildings — has limited or no cell coverage, so a smartphone can be useless in an emergency.
Match the communication tool to where the work actually happens. Cellular is fine in town; for genuinely remote work, consider satellite communicators, two-way radio, or personal locator beacons, and devices with welfare-check or “man-down” alerts that don't rely on an injured person pressing a button. The point isn't the gadget — it's that someone will reliably know when a lone worker needs help, even if the worker can't call.
For some lone workers, the biggest risk isn't an accident — it's another person.
Late-night, retail, hospitality and home-visit workers can face confrontation or violence while alone. Manage it like any other risk: assess the threat, control it (cash handling procedures, safe layouts, the ability to summon help, the option to withdraw), and make sure workers can raise the alarm and that someone will respond.
Document check-ins, communication and emergency plans in one place. Book a demo and we'll show you how it works — free 30-day trial included.
Yes, working alone is legal, but you must manage the additional risk. The GRWM Regulations 2016 require you to manage remote or isolated work and to provide a system of work that includes effective communication with the worker.
Anyone who works where help can't reach them quickly if something goes wrong — not only people in remote areas. A retail worker closing up alone, a home-visiting health worker, a tradesperson on a quiet site or a farmer across a block can all be lone workers. The test is how fast help could reach them.
Regulation 21 of the GRWM Regulations 2016 requires a PCBU to manage the risks to remote or isolated workers and provide a system of work that includes effective communication. This sits alongside the general HSWA duty to eliminate or minimise risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
Often not. A large part of New Zealand's landmass, and some buildings, has limited or no cell coverage, so a phone can be useless in an emergency. Match the communication tool to the location — satellite, radio or a personal locator beacon may be needed — and consider devices with welfare-check or man-down alerts.
A scheduled way for a lone worker to confirm they're safe, with a clear escalation path if they don't respond — so a missed check-in triggers action rather than going unnoticed. WorkSafe expects proactive monitoring, not simply waiting to discover a problem.
