The common reasons for a low score — and exactly how to fix each one
Most low scores come down to one thing: missing or out-of-date evidence, not a missing policy. Assessors grade what you can prove the system is doing, so untailored templates, undated records, and incidents with no corrective action quietly pull your score down. The good news — nearly every cause below is fixable before you resubmit.
It is evidence, not policy. Assessors grade what you can demonstrate is happening — not the documents you happen to own.
You can hold a complete health and safety manual and still score Amber or Red if you cannot show it in action. Every cause below is really a variation on the same theme: the paperwork exists, but the proof that it is lived day to day does not.
A policy is a claim; the evidence is what backs it up.
A hazard register that has never been updated, or a training policy with no training records behind it, tells the assessor the document is decorative. Fix: for every policy, attach a recent, dated record that shows it in use — a register update, a completed form, a signed record.
Old records suggest the system has stalled.
Evidence from two years ago, with nothing since, reads as a business that prepared once and stopped. Fix: refresh the core records so you have current examples — ideally from the last three to six months — before you submit, and keep them flowing afterwards.
Reporting is only half the cycle; assessors want to see the loop closed.
An incident or near-miss logged with no investigation, corrective action or sign-off looks like an unfinished process. Fix: show the full loop — what happened, what you did about it, and confirmation the action was completed.
A risk assessment for “a construction company” is not a risk assessment for your jobs.
Off-the-shelf documents that never mention your actual tasks, sites or hazards are an immediate flag. Fix: tailor your registers and assessments to the real work you do, naming the specific hazards and controls that apply on your sites.
Engagement is a duty under the HSWA — and a scored area.
If nothing shows workers were consulted or involved, that section scores poorly even if your other paperwork is strong. Fix: keep dated toolbox talks and safety meeting minutes with attendees listed, and record how worker feedback led to changes.
If you engage subbies, you are expected to manage them — and prove it.
No subcontractor checks, no site inductions, no records of how you oversee their work all leave a hole. Fix: keep evidence of how you select, induct and monitor subcontractors on your sites.
Treat the assessor's feedback as a checklist, close each gap with dated evidence, then resubmit.
Most schemes tell you which sections scored low. Work through them one by one, attach the specific proof that was missing, and do not resubmit until each area has a current, dated example behind it. The fastest long-term fix is to run a single system day to day, so the evidence builds itself and the next assessment is far easier.
NZOHS gives you a complete, ready-to-use health and safety management system — tailored policies, registers, procedures, training records and reporting — that produces the current, dated, work-specific evidence assessors look for. Because the NZOHS team are qualified New Zealand health and safety professionals, we help you read the feedback, close the gaps and present a stronger resubmission.
Get a system that produces the evidence assessors look for, and advice to close the gaps. Book a demo and we'll show you how it works — free 30-day trial included.
Almost always because of missing or out-of-date evidence rather than a missing policy. Assessors grade what you can prove the system is doing, so gaps in recent records — inspections, training, incidents, corrective actions — pull the score down even when your written documents look complete.
Yes. Most schemes tell you which sections scored low, so you can treat the feedback as a checklist, close each gap with current dated evidence, and resubmit. Do not resubmit until every flagged area has a recent example behind it.
Generic, off-the-shelf documents that never mention your actual tasks, sites or hazards read as unused. Tailoring your registers and assessments to the real work you do — naming the specific hazards and controls — resolves it.
Run a single health and safety system day to day rather than rebuilding paperwork before each assessment. That way current, dated, work-specific evidence accumulates on its own, which is exactly what assessors want to see.
