Good safety isn't just the right thing to do — it pays
Health and safety is first and foremost about people going home unharmed. But it also makes business sense. Poor safety carries heavy and often hidden costs — lost time, recruitment and retraining, higher ACC levies, reputational damage, and potentially fines and reparations. Good safety reduces those costs and brings real benefits: fewer injuries, better productivity, stronger retention, and a reputation that helps win work. The challenge is that the costs of not investing are easy to miss until something goes wrong.
A decade on from HSWA, the harm is still significant.
New Zealand's work health and safety performance still lags comparable countries. In 2024, 70 people lost their lives to work-related injuries — more than one death every week — and New Zealand's fatality rate has been estimated at around 1.6 times Australia's. Behind the fatalities sit far larger numbers of serious injuries and work-related illnesses. The human cost is the reason that matters most, but it is also a clear signal that there is real risk — and real cost — for businesses that do not manage safety well.
The visible bill is the tip of the iceberg.
When someone is hurt, the obvious costs — treatment, an ACC claim, perhaps a fine — are only part of the picture. Underneath sit a host of indirect costs that are easy to overlook but often larger:
Good safety and good business pull in the same direction.
| Benefit | Why it follows from good safety |
|---|---|
| Fewer injuries and claims | Lower direct and indirect costs, and downward pressure on ACC levies over time. |
| Higher productivity | Less downtime and disruption; well-designed work is usually more efficient work. |
| Better retention | People stay where they feel safe and valued, reducing turnover costs. |
| Winning work | Many clients and principals require evidence of good safety and prequalification. |
| Reputation & trust | A strong record protects your brand and your social licence to operate. |
The size of these benefits varies by business; the direction is consistent. Source: established H&S practice.
Make the invisible costs visible.
To make the case internally, put numbers around your own situation rather than relying on generic claims. Estimate the full cost of recent incidents — including downtime, cover, retraining and management time, not just the ACC or medical cost. Compare that with the cost of the controls that would have prevented them. Track leading indicators so you can show improvement before the injury numbers move. Framed this way, safety spending reads as risk reduction and cost avoidance, not just compliance.
General information, not legal or financial advice. Cost and return figures depend on your specific business. Use your own data and seek professional advice where needed.
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Good safety reduces the heavy and often hidden costs of injuries — downtime, retraining, higher ACC levies, legal exposure and reputational damage — while improving productivity, retention and your ability to win work. The exact return depends on your business, but the direction is consistent.
Beyond treatment and the ACC claim, injuries bring lost productivity, the cost of covering or replacing a worker, recruitment and retraining, management and investigation time, possible fines and reparations, and reputational harm. These indirect costs are often larger than the visible ones.
Use your own data. Estimate the full cost of recent incidents (including downtime, cover, retraining and management time), compare it with the cost of the controls that would have prevented them, and track leading indicators to show improvement before injury numbers change.
Yes. Under HSWA, courts can order reparations to victims separately from the fine, and in serious cases those reparations have exceeded the fine imposed. This is part of why poor safety can be very costly.
