Workplace Emergency Plans in New Zealand: Regulation 14 Guide

An emergency plan tells people what to do when normal work can no longer continue safely. It must work for the people, hazards and layout of the actual workplace. A diagram showing an exit is useful, but it cannot by itself explain who calls emergency services, how an injured worker receives help, who coordinates the response or what happens when the normal route is blocked.

Regulation 14 of the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 requires a PCBU to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan for the workplace. WorkSafe New Zealand's interpretive guidance explains that the plan should be tailored. A low-risk workplace may need a concise plan; more complex work needs more detail. Other legislation can add requirements for hazardous substances or particular facilities. This article addresses the general workplace plan, not every specialised regime.

What regulation 14 requires

The regulation says emergency procedures must cover an effective response, evacuation, early notification of emergency service organisations, medical treatment and assistance, and effective communication between the authorised emergency coordinator and all other people at the workplace. The plan must provide for testing the procedures, including how often they will be tested, and for information, training and instruction to relevant workers. It must be maintained so it stays effective and implemented in an emergency.

The PCBU must consider the nature of the work and hazards, the workplace's size and location, and the number and composition of the workforce. A generic plan may omit the exact conditions that matter. A night shift may have no manager present. A field crew may have no fixed assembly point. A shared building may have several businesses using the same alarm. A worker with mobility needs may require an agreed way to leave safely. These are reasons to adapt the plan, not reasons to skip it.

WorkSafe says workers should be engaged when making decisions about emergency plans. The people who will follow a procedure are often best placed to spot a locked exit, inaudible alarm or contact number that does not work. Consult other PCBUs at shared sites so their plans do not conflict. A property manager's evacuation system and an employer's worker instructions should connect, while each party understands its role.

Identify credible emergencies

Begin with hazards and the setting. Consider fire, medical emergencies, serious injury, violence, extreme weather, power loss, equipment failure, chemical releases and other events relevant to the work. A hazardous-substances site may need separate, more detailed procedures under the Hazardous Substances Regulations. A major hazard facility has its own regime. Do not treat a general regulation 14 plan as proof that every specialist requirement has been met.

For each credible event, ask how it would be detected, who could be affected, what the first safe action is and whether people may need to evacuate or shelter. Consider workers, contractors, visitors and others present. Include ordinary and unusual operating conditions. An emergency may arise during cleaning, a shutdown or an after-hours delivery when fewer people are available.

Do not write a separate complicated script for every imaginable event. Group actions that share the same alarm and communication sequence, then add specific directions where a hazard requires them. The result should be clear enough to use under pressure.

Set out the first response and communication

The plan should identify how a person raises an alarm, who assesses the situation, who coordinates and who calls emergency services. Make the contact and location information usable. A caller should be able to give the site address, access route and relevant hazard information. For a mobile team, specify how it gives its current location. Test a backup communication method if a mobile network, radio or alarm may fail.

The response coordinator needs to communicate with all people at the workplace. That includes contractors in a separate area, a visitor who has not attended the normal induction and workers on another shift. Decide how messages will be delivered and updated. If emergency services arrive, make clear who gives them information and follows their instructions. A plan should not encourage an untrained person to enter an unsafe area or attempt a rescue beyond their capability.

The plan's language should tell people what to do, not merely name a role. “Warden coordinates” is incomplete unless the warden has a way to contact others, knows the area and has cover when absent. Record the names or role holders in a place that can be updated without rewriting the whole plan.

Evacuate, shelter and account for people

Show primary and alternative exits, assembly areas and any reason to use a different response for a particular hazard. A fire may require leaving a building; an external threat may require another approach. The choice should be part of the site plan and communicated by the coordinator. Consider access for people who need assistance and avoid relying on one person who may not be present.

Plan how to know who has left. A visitor book that is locked in the building after evacuation is not a reliable count. A shared site may need businesses to reconcile their own workers and then report to a common coordinator. Do not delay a safe evacuation to collect belongings or complete a perfect register. Emergency services need accurate information about anyone believed to remain inside.

For remote work, the equivalent issue is whether the business can locate and contact the worker and determine when to trigger help. A building evacuation diagram will not answer that. The emergency plan should connect with lone-work check-in and first aid arrangements where relevant.

Include medical help and first aid

Regulation 14 expressly includes medical treatment and assistance procedures. Identify who can administer first aid, where kits and facilities are, how to summon help and how emergency services will reach the casualty. The detailed assessment of trained people and equipment belongs to regulation 13. An emergency plan should point people to that arrangement, not duplicate every kit-content decision.

If a hazardous substance is involved, relevant information should be accessible to responders, and a separate hazardous-substances emergency plan may be required. This page does not give treatment advice for a specific exposure. Keep medical choices with trained people and emergency services.

Test the plan and use the findings

Regulation 14 requires the plan to provide for testing, including frequency. WorkSafe's guidance recommends that plans be tested at least yearly. That is regulator guidance, not a claim that the regulation itself writes a universal annual interval for all workplaces. A higher-risk setting or a specific additional rule may call for more frequent or different testing.

Test meaningful parts of the plan. A discussion exercise can expose a missing decision. A communication test can show that the alarm is not heard in a workshop. A practical evacuation can reveal a blocked route or an inaccurate visitor count. Record what was tested, who took part, what failed, what changed and whether the correction worked. A drill form marked “complete” is of little value if the same problem remains next time.

Train and instruct workers for their roles. New starters, relief staff and contractors may need information at a different time from the permanent team. Wardens, first aiders and other response roles require the preparation appropriate to their tasks. Check how the response works when the designated person is on leave or another shift.

Keep it effective as the workplace changes

Review after a new process, changed layout, new substance, different workforce, exercise, incident or significant change to the building. Replace superseded versions of diagrams and contact lists. Tell workers what changed. If a new tenant occupies part of a shared workplace, align alarms and coordination. If a team begins night work, verify cover for communication, evacuation and first aid outside normal hours.

An emergency plan must be implemented in an actual emergency. A document that workers cannot find or have never been taught to use is unlikely to achieve that purpose. Keep the operational instructions accessible even if the main plan is stored digitally. Consider what happens if the power or network is unavailable.

Example: a small workshop with a visiting contractor

A small workshop stores ordinary materials and uses machinery. Its emergency plan identifies the alarm method, two exit routes, assembly point, who calls emergency services and who can provide first aid. A visiting contractor receives the relevant instructions before work starts. During a test, workers find that the rear exit is obstructed by deliveries and the coordinator's contact list omits an evening shift worker. The business changes the storage practice, updates the contact process and retests the relevant steps.

This example is a practical planning sequence, not a determination of what every workshop's plan must contain. A workplace with hazardous substances, complex plant or more people will need an assessment suited to those risks.

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